BANCROFT 

LIBRARY 
,      « 

THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 
OF  CALIFORNIA 


t      * 


MEMOIRS, 

OFFICIAL  AND  PERSONAL; 


WITH 


SKETCHES  OF  TRAVELS 


AMONG  THE 


NORTHERN  AND  SOUTHERN  INDIANS ; 


EMBRACING 


A    WAR    EXCURSION, 


AND  DESCRIPTIONS  OF 


SCENES  ALONG  THE  WESTERN  BORDERS. 


BY 

THOMAS  L.  M'KENNEY, 

LATE    CHIEF   OF   THE    BUREAU   OF  INDIAN   AFFAIRS,    AUTHOR   OF    "THE    HISTORY    OF   THE    INDIAN 
TRIBES  OF  NORTH  AMERICA,"  ETC.,  ETC. 


TWO   VOLUMES   IN   ONE. 


VOLUME  I. 


NEW    YORK: 

PAINE  AND  BURGESS,  60  JOHN-ST. 
1846 


Entered  according  to  act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1846, 
By  PAINE  &  BURGESS, 

In  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  Southern  District  of 
New  York. 


PREFACE  TO  VOL.  I. 


No  traveller  expects,  when  he  sets  out  upon  a  journey, 
to  meet  only  with  smooth  roads,  cultivated  fields,  lovely 
gardens,  wide-spread  and  magnificent  scenery,  a  clear  sky, 
and,  at  every  stopping-place,  inns  filled  with  comforts,  but 
goes  forth  prepared  to  have  all  these  diversified  with  rug- 
ged roads,  desolate  fields,  weedy  and  odorless  gardens, 
lowering  skies,  and  the  inconveniences  and  discomforts  of 
road-side  accommodations.  I  cannot  promise  in  my  book 
more  than  is  contained  in  the  combined  volumes  of  art 
and  nature. 

Should  any  one,  on  opening  this  volume  with  the  in- 
tention of  reading  it,  expect  to  find  everything  in  it  capti- 
vating, or  even  agreeable,  he  will  find  himself  mistaken. 
A  good  deal  of  the  contents  will,  I  fear,  prove  to  the  gen- 
eral reader  wholly  uninteresting  ;  but  this  portion  of  the 
work  may  not  be  so  regarded,  by  kind,  and  generous,  and 
sympathizing  friends.  I  have  reference  to  those  parts  that 
are  wholly  personal  to  myself.  I  would  gladly  omit  them, 
if,  with  justice  to  myself,  or  to  those  who  cherish  an  in- 
terest in  my  reputation  and  destiny,  as  also  to  those  who 
bear  my  name,  and  who  are  connected  with  me  by  the 
ties  of  consanguinity,  I  could  do  so. 

Apart  from  these  personal  references,  may  I  not  hope 
that  the  reader  will  be  repaid  for  the  time  spent  in  follow- 
ing me  ?  And  especially  do  I  trust,  that  much  may  be 
found  to  interest,  when,  having  got  fairly  in  among  the 


IV  PREFACE. 

scenes  of  nature — vast — wild — boundless — I  shall  attempt 
a  reflex  of  them ;  and  when  the  incidents  and  events, 
which,  in  my  journeyings,  I  have  witnessed,  are  attempted 
to  be  portrayed,  in  which  the  RED  MAN  of  the  forest  is 
the  chief  actor,  and  wherein  will  be  seen  his  habits,  his 
principles,  his  occupations,  and  whatever  attaches  to  him 
in  his  wilderness  home. 

But,  even  at  the  hazard  of  offending  some — and  really 
I  shall  not  write  a  word  with  any  such  intention — I  have 
concluded  to  cast  these  MEMOIRS  upon  the  patronage,  and 
kind  indulgence  of  an  enlightened  and  liberal  public. 

T.  L.  M'K. 

Cape  Cottage,  February ,  1845. 


DEDICATION  OF  VOL.  I. 


To  MRS.  JAMES  MADISON. 

Madam — There  is  such  a  thing  as  the  memory  of  the 
heart.  It  is  kept  fresh  and  odorous  by  being  cherished. 
Mine  for  your  illustrious  husband  can  never  die.  I  delight 
in  the  contemplation  of  his  purity — his  patriotism — his 
statesmanship — and  in  his  polished  and  beautiful  writings. 
All  these,  and  more,  adorn  his  name,  like  gems,  which 
time,  instead  of  dimming,  is  every  day  making  brighter 
and  more  glorious. 

My  first  call  to  the  performance  of  civil  duties,  in  con- 
nection with  the  government,  and  to  the  discharge  of  a 
highly  responsible  trust,  was  from  JAMES  MADISON.  I  am 
proud  of  the  honour  of  the  confidence  of  such  a  man,  and 
shall  cherish,  to  my  last  hour,  a  grateful  sense  of  it. 

Your  fame,  madam,  is  so  delicately  and  beautifully 
mingled  with  his,  as  to  become  identified  with  it.  Such 
a  blending  I  have  never  witnessed,  in  anything,  except  in 
the  rainbow.  In  ease,  and  in  dignity,  in  purity  and  patri- 
otism, in  the  admiration  and  affection  of  millions,  in  the 
glory  shed  upon  the  highest  place  in  the  republic — all 
these,  in  the  view  of  your  countrymen,  you  shared,  and 
continue  to  share,  with  him.  If  his  is  the  column  that 
sustains  the  capitol,  yours,  madam,  is  the  cap  that  orna- 
ments it. 

Entertaining  such  views,  and  cherishing  such  feelings, 
how  could  I  do  else  than  ask  the  privilege,  and  covet  the 
honor,  of  dedicating  these  memoirs  to  you  ?  The  offer- 
ing I  know  is  a  poor  one  :  I  wish  it  were  more  worthy 


VI  DEDICATION,    ETC. 

of  your  acceptance ;  but  it  is  an  offering  of  the  heart,  and 
your  permission,  so  kindly  granted,  to  dedicate  them  to 
you,  forms  another  link  of  friendship  in  the  chain  that  binds 
me  to  you,  and  to  the  memory  of  JAMES  MADISON. 

THOMAS  L.  M'KENNEY. 
Cape  Cottage,  February,  1845. 


<s 


>     ^    >J 
3  •     >*-      2 


^ 


W    si 


GENERAL  CONTENTS, 


CHAPTER  I. 

PAGE 

Public  Office — its  Duties,  Difficulties,  and  Dangers,      ...         17 

CHAPTER  II. 

Improvement,  Moral  and  Intellectual,  of  the  Indians — President  Mon- 
roe— Anecdotes  illustrating  his  character,         ....         32 

CHAPTER  III. 

The  Bureau  of  Indian  Affairs — Commissions  to  Treat  with  the  Indi- 
ans— Voyage  on  the  Great  Lakes — Green  Bay — Butte  de  M«*s,     56 

CHAPTER  IV. 

Incidents  of  the  Council  at  Le  Petit  Butte  de  Morts,     .         .         .60 

CHAPTER  V. 

Expedition  against  the  Winnebagoes — Surrender,  Reception,  and  Ap- 
pearance of  "  Red-Bird,"        . 99 

CHAPTER  VI. 

\  * 

Passage  down  the  Ouisconsin  and  Mississippi  Rivers,       .         .         .117 

CHAPTER  VII 

Sojourn  at  St.  Louis — Passage  down  the  Mississippi — Hard  Journey 
from  Memphis  to  Chickasaw  Bluflfe, %  142 


Vlll  GENERAL   CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

PAGE 

Incidents  of  Travel  from  the  Chickasaw  Bluffs,  through  the  Chicka- 
saw  and  Choctaw  country,  to  Tuscaloosa ;  thence,  through  the 
Creek  country,  home,  .  .  .  .  .  .  /i ..''  .  167 

CHAPTER  IX. 

Return  to  Washington — Change  of  Administration — Political  Excite- 
ment— Corruption  and  Favoritism  in  high  places,  .  .  .191 

CHAPTER  X. 

Plans  for  Improving  the  Condition  of  the  Indians — Hindrances  in  the 
Way  of  their  Execution,  .  .  .  ...  .  .224 

CHAPTER  XI. 

Abominable  Abuse  of  Power  in  our  Relations  with  the  Indians,        .  256 


MEMOIRS. 


CHAPTER  I. 

PUBLIC   OFFICE ITS  DUTIES,  DIFFICULTIES   AND   DANGERS. 

First  appointment  to  office — System  of  government  trade  with  the  Indians — Tra- 
ding companies  and  individuals — Contrast  between  the  two  systems — American 
Fur  Company — John  Jacob  Astor — Missouri  Fur  Company — Difficulty  of  sup- 
plying the  factories  during  the  war — Unsuitable  stock  on  hand  at  its  close — 
Loss  in  disposing  of  it — Satisfaction  of  the  Indians  on  receiving  the  new  sup- 
plies— Clerks  in  the  office — Miles,  the  trusty  messenger — Inestimable  value  of 
competent  and  faithful  clerks — Folly  and  wickedness  of  proscription — Transfer 
of  the  property  of  the  Indian  trade  establishment — Increase  of  the  capital — As- 
sailed by  Mr.  Benton — The  reply — Mr.  Monroe's  opinion — Payment  of  Indian 
annuities — Caution  in  keeping  the  accounts — Charged  with  defalcation — Mys- 
terious disappearance  of  vouchers — Duplicates  produced — Accounts  settled — 
Charges  of  defalcation  reiterated — Rules  adopted  in  purchasing  articles  for  the 
Indians — Anonymous  charges  of  favoritism — Discomforts  of  office — Accounts 
kept  open. 

I  OWE  my  first  connection  with  our  Indian  relations,  and 
the  first  civil  trust  conferred  upon  me,  to  the  confidence  of 
PRESIDENT  MADISON,  who,  unsolicited  by  myself,  and,  so 
far  as  I  know,  by  any  one  for  me,  honored  me,  on  the  2d 
April,  1816,  with  the  commission  of  "  Superintendent  of 
the  United  States  Indian  Trade  with  the  Indian  Tribes." 
I  had  been  informed,  a  few  days  previous,  of  the  intention 
of  President  Madison  to  call  me  to  the  discharge  of  the 
duties  of  this  office,  but  had  never  spoken  to  him  on  the 

VOL.  I.  3 


18  MEMOIRS,  &c.,  &c. 

subject,  nor  he  to  me.  My  commission*  was  brought  to 
me  by  Hon.  William  Jones,  Secretary  of  the  Navy. 

The  plan  of  a  United  States  government  trade  with  the 
Indians  dates  as  far  back  as  the  year  1796.  The  system 
was  one  of  pure  humanity,  embracing  a  supply  of  the  wants 
of  the  Indians  without  reference  to  profit;  and  receiving, 
in  exchange  from  them,  their  furs  and  peltries,  at  fair  prices ; 
the  law  governing  this  trade  contemplating  nothing  more 
than  the  preservation  of  the  capital  employed  in  it.  The 
convenience  of  the  Indians  was  consulted  in  the  establish- 
ment of  factories  along  the  border,  and  at  such  distances 
from  each  other,  as  to  approximate  upon  the  one  hand,  as 
near  to  the  hunting  grounds  of  the  Indians  as  was  conve- 
nient ;  upon  the  other,  with  the  readiest  access  to  them  by 
water,  or  otherwise,  for  the  transportation  of  the  annual 
supplies.  Suitable  and  competent  persons,  as  factors, 
clerks,  and  interpreters,  were  appointed  to  carry  on  this 
trade. 

There  were  in  operation,  at  the  same  time,  two  other 
systems  of  trade  with  this  people.  One  of  these  was  con- 
ducted by  individuals,  the  other  by  companies.  The  con- 
trast between  these  and  the  government  trade,  will  not 

*  (COPY.) 
THE  PRESIDENT  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA — 

To  all  who  shall  see  these  presents,  Greeting : 

KNOW  YE,  That  reposing  special  trust  and  confidence  in  the  integrity,  ability, 
and  diligence  of  Thomas  L.  McKenney,  of  the  District  of  Columbia,  I  do  appoint 
him  superintendent  of  Indian  trade,  and  do  authorize  and  empower  him  to  execute 
and  fulfil  the  duties  of  that  office,  according  to  law ;  and  to  have  and  to  hold  the 
said  office,  with  all  the  powers,  privileges  and  emoluments  to  the  same  of  right 
appertaining,  unto  him  the  said  Thomas  L.  McKenney,  during  the  pleasure  of 
the  President  of  the  United  States,  for  the  time  being. 

Given  under  my  hand  at  Washington,  this  second  day  of  April,  in  the  year  of 
our  Lord  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  sixteen,  and  in  the  fortieth  year 
of  the  Independence  of  the  United  States. 

JAMES  MADISON. 
By  command  of  the  President  of  the  United  States  of  America. 

WM.  H.  CRAWFORD,  Secretary  of  War. 


MEMOIRS,  &c.,  &c.  19 

fail  to  strike  the  most  casual  reader.  The  leading  features 
of  the  government  trade  were  protection  and  justice,  based 
in  humanity.  Its  tendencies  were  kind  and  merciful.  The 
bane  of  the  Indian  was  wholly  excluded  from  the  United 
States  trade ;  not  a  drop  of  brandy,  rum,  or  whiskey,  being 
permitted  to  pass  through  the  factories.  Not  a  cent  of 
profit  was  contemplated,  as  has  been  stated.  With  no 
other  system  but  this,  or  others  in  harmony  with  it,  the  In- 
dians would  have  been  protected,  and  blessed,  and  pre- 
served. Many  of  the  bloody  strifes  with  one  another,  and 
of  wars  between  tribes  and  bands,  and  the  probability  is, 
the  greater  portion  of  these  border  difficulties  between  the 
Indians  and  our  people,  would  never  have  been  heard  of; 
whilst  the  Indians,  preserved  from  the  double  action  upon 
them  of  these  wars,  and  the  consuming  effects  of  the  "  fire- 
water," would  have  retained  their  native  strength  and  dig- 
nity, and  not  wasted  away  and  perished,  as  they  have  done. 
I  can  conceive  of  no  contrast  more  decided  than  that 
which  marked  the  United  States'  treatment  of  these  ex- 
posed people,  and  that  which  characterized  the  traffic  car- 
ried on  with  them  by  private  individuals,  and  companies. 
To  sum  it  up  in  few  words,  the  first  was  a  shield  to  pro- 
tect, and  a  fountain  to  sustain,  and  refresh,  and  bless  the 
Indians;  the  last  two  operated  to  place  them  amidst  the 
unobstructed,  full,  and  unmitigated  blaze  of  a  consuming 
avarice!  No  profits  were  sought  by  the  government — 
nothing  but  gains  were  contemplated  by  the  traders.  No 
consuming,  and  strife,  and  war-kindling  agencies,  were  em- 
ployed by  the  first,  to  attract  and  lure  the  unhappy  victim; 
no  laws  could  be  enacted  by  Congress,  and  no  regulations 
framed,  of  adequate  force  or  vigilance,  to  prevent  the  em- 
ployment, by  the  traders,  of  these  lures,  and  of  this  bane. 
No  one  who  has  not  witnessed  it,  can  conceive  the  sacri- 
fices an  Indian  will  make  for  whiskey ;  how  far  he  will  trav- 
el, laden  with  the  returns  of  his  winter's  hunts ;  how  little 
he  foresees,  or  regards  the  consequences  to  himself,  or  any 


20  MEMOIRS,  &c.,  &c. 

body  else,  of  his  indulgence  in  this  fatal  poison.  The 
awaking  from  his  delirious  dream,  and  finding  his  furs  and 
peltries  gone,  and  in  their  places  a  few  worthless  articles, 
unsuited  in  quality  or  quantity  to  screen  himself  and  his 
family  from  the  winter's  cold,  may  distress  him,  and  kindle 
his  revenge,  for  the  time  being,  but  it  is  forgotten  when- 
ever a  new  occasion  happens  in  which  he  can  indulge  in 
the  same  excess !  Of  all  men,  an  Indian  is  the  most  im- 
provident, and  furnishes  the  most  painful  example  of  a 
reckless  disregard  to  the  impoverishing  and  life-consuming 
effects  of  intemperance. 

Many  fortunes  have  been  made  in  the  trade  with  the 
Indians.  The  company  that  has  flourished  most,  and  be- 
come most  enriched  by  it,  is  the  "American  Fur  Compa- 
ny," at  the  head  of  which,  for  many  years,  as  owner  and 
manager,  was  JOHN  JACOB  ASTOR.  This  sagacious  and 
wonderful  man  pushed  this  trade  wherever  the  beaver,  the 
otter,  or  the  muskrat,  could  be  found  in  sufficient  quantity 
to  authorize  the  adventure,  until  the  range  east  of  the  Rocky 
Mountains  becoming  too  limited  for  his  enterprise,  he 
doubled  the  Cape,  and  felt  his  way  up  the  Columbia  river, 
opening  a  trade  with  the  natives  of  that  far-off  region. 
Next  in  enterprise  and  success,  was  the  "Missouri  Fur 
Company,"  whose  operations  were,  and  are  yet,  conducted 
by  the  sagacious  CHOUTOU'S.  It  was  to  make  the  range 
of  this  company's  operations  wider,  and  secure  to  it,  mainly, 
the  unobstructed  way  to  a  monopoly  of  the  trade  within 
the  limits  of  its  range,  that  the  United  States  system  was, 
by  act  of  Congress,  broken  down. 

In  the  discharge  of  my  trust,  I  found  it  necessary, 
almost  from  year  to  year,  in  my  annual  reports,  to  refer 
to  the  manner  in  which  these  companies  carried  on  their 
operations ;  protesting  against  the  use  of  whiskey,  and 
urging  the  adoption  of  more  rigid  regulations  to  prevent 
its  being  carried  into  the  Indian  country.  For  this  was 
the  charm,  and  the  trading  house  at  which  the  poor 


MEMOIRS,  &c.,  &c.  21 

Indian  was  most  certain  of  meeting  with  this  beverage, 
was  sure  of  his  custom.  It  was  not  so  much  a  competi- 
tion in  blankets,  and  strouds,  and  calicoes,  and  beaver- 
traps,  and  other  articles  that  were  necessary  for  the  trade, 
or  their  prices,  asvin  whiskey.  My  reports  were  not 
regarded  in  the  light  of  very  friendly  interpositions,  and 
from  these  it  was  quite  natural  for  the  feelings  they 
occasioned  to  glance  off,  and  become  personal.  The 
consequence  was,  I  was  not  in  favor  either  with  the 
private  trade,  or  with  the  more  formidable  power  con- 
centred in  the  companies. 

I  shall  take  occasion,  in  the  sequel,  to  refer  again  to  the 
breaking  down  of  the  United  States  trade ;  and  to  a  part, 
at  least,  of  the  means  employed  to  accomplish  it. 

My  immediate  predecessor,  General  John  Mason,  a 
man  of  talents  and  integrity,  had  found  it  difficult  during 
the  war  to  procure  suitable  supplies,  except  in  part,  for 
the  trade.  Mackinac  blankets,  and  strouding,  two  indis- 
pensable articles,  were  wholly  beyond  his  reach ;  made  so 
by  the  war  with  Great  Britain,  on  the  one  hand,  and  the 
infant  state  of  our  manufactures,  on  the  other.  For  blank- 
ets, resort  was  had  to  a  sort  of  cloth  made  of  wool,  united, 
without  weaving,  after  the  manner  in  which  hats  are  made. 
It  was  these  or  none.  These,  with  numerous  other  articles, 
as  little  adapted  to  the  comfort  of  the  Indians,  were  pur- 
chased and  forwarded,  and  as  little  in  accordance  with 
their  wants  and  tastes.  But  nothing  better  in  the  then 
condition  of  the  country,  could  be  done. 

I  found,  on  entering  upon  the  duties  of  this  trust,  a 
large  portion  of  the  capital  absorbed  in  these  unsuitable 
supplies,  and  the  factories  laboring  under  their  weight. 
On  the  return  of  peace,  the  markets  resumed  their  former 
ability  to  supply  the  demand,  and  were  prepared,  when  I 
took  charge  of  the  department,  to  respond  to  my  calls. 
But  to  make  way  for  the  new  and  appropriate  supplies,  it 
was  necessary  for  me  to  get  rid  of  the  old  and  unsuitable ; 


22  MEMOIRS,  &c.,  &c. 

when  I  ordered  the  old  stock  to  be  got  rid  of,  regardless 
of  loss.  It  was  customary  to  pack  the  supplies  in  water- 
proof tierces.  In  making  up  the  outfit  the  first  year  of  my 
superintendency,  the  quality  of  goods  required  for  it  was 
so  large,  that  the  tierces  required  for  their  transportation 
were  found,  on  being  measured,  to  extend  in  length  over 
one  mile  and  a  quarter. 

The  loss  on  the  old  stock  was  very  great,  and  made,  of 
course,  a  corresponding  inroad  upon  the  capital,  and  this 
required  the  adoption  of  a  new  scale  of  advances  upon  the 
articles  sent,  as  also  another  for  the  regulation  of  the 
prices  allowed  the  Indians  for  their  furs  and  peltries. 
This  scale  was  so  graduated  as  to  run  through  more  than 
one  season — thus  making  the  annual  advance  to  bear  easy 
upon  the  Indians.  The  prices  of  furs,  &c.,  owing  to  the 
re-opening  of  our  commercial  relations  after  the  war, 
having  increased,  enabled  the  government  to  allow  an 
increase  upon  them — so  that  the  Indians  felt  very  little  of 
the  advance  which  had  been  put  upon  the  goods. 

Great  satisfaction  was  expressed  by  these  poor  fellows, 
in  being  able  once  more  to  provide  for  themselves  and 
families  the  substantial  woven  and  almost  weather-proof 
Mackinac  blanket,  and  the  almost  water-proof  and  endu- 
ring strouding.  I  received  letters  from  Governor  Cass, 
whose  office  of  governor  of  Michigan  made  him  ex-officio 
superintendent  of  the  Indians  of  .that  Territory,  as  also 
from  General  William  Clark,  who  was  superintendent  of 
Indian  affairs  for  Missouri,  conveying  their  high  satisfac- 
tion at  this  new  influx  of  the  right  sort  of  articles — and 
assuring  me  that  no  such  supplies,  either  in  fitness  or 
cheapness,  had  ever  before  found  their  way  into  their 
superintendencies. 

I  owed  this  success  mainly  to  others.  I  was  assisted 
by  clerks  whose  integrity  and  experience  made  them  of 
great  value,  as  well  to  the  public  as  to  myself;  and  I  can 
never  forget  the  obligations  I  was  placed  under,  for  zeal- 


MEMOIRS,  &c.,  &c.  23 

ous  co-operations,  and  honesty  of  purpose,  of  my  chief 
clerk,  Jere  W.  Bronaugh;  my  book-keeper,  Mr.  Rich, 
and  my  copying  clerk,  Mead  Fitzhugh — nor  should  I 
be  doing  justice  to  my  feelings,  were  I  to  omit  to  name 
Miles,  my  trusty  messenger.  Miles  was  honest,  and  he 
was  faithful  to  his  humble  trust.  He  had  a  horror,  some- 
how, of  Indians.  Miles  was  bald — and  Fitzhugh,  being 
given  to  mischief,  had  almost  persuaded  him  that  he  had, 
in  some  far-back  period  of  his  life,  been  scalped  by 
Indians ;  and  sometimes,  when  the  business  of  the  day  was 
over,  I  would,  in  passing,  hear  Fitzhugh  urging  upon  Miles, 
this  almost  questionless  fact  j  when  the  artless  creature 
would  raise  his  hand,  place  it  well  back,  and  then  draw  it 
over  his  forehead,  and  with  a  shake  of  his  head,  say — 
"  No,  no — Mr.  Fitzhugh ;  no,  no" — at  the  same  time  his 
looks  betraying  his  own  suspicions,  if  no  more,  that  such 
might  have  been  the  case.  One  little  anecdote  may  serve 
to  show  how  the  artlessness  of  Miles  was  blended  with  his 
fears,  and  how  these  were  set  off  by  his  want  of  a  better 
knowledge  of  his  mother  tongue. 

I  was  in  the  warehouse,  during  the  packing  season, 
overlooking  this  operation — the  operation,  I  mean,  of 
separating  and  dividing  articles,  so  as  to  make  up  the 
assortments  and  quantities,  which  were  destined  to  Chi- 
cago, on  the  North ;  to  Fort  Osage,  in  the  West,  and  the 
Chickasaw  Bluffs,  in  the  South,  and,  in  all,  eight  factories — 
when  Miles  coming  up  to  me  in  a  great  flurry,  with  hat  in 
hand,  said — "  Sir,  there  are  eighteen  hostile  Indians  at  the 
office — please  come  up,  sir,  directly."  Nonsense,  Miles, 
I  replied,  4iostile  Indians — it  cannot  be  so.  "  'Pon  honor," 
said  Miles,  giving  a  most  knowing  shake  of  his  head,  "  it 
is  true,  for  they  are  every  one  on  horseback !" 

No  one  who  has  not  experienced  it  can  know  how 
strong  the  ties  become  between  the  head  of  a  department 
and  his  clerks,  provided  there  is  mutual  zeal,  and  a  cor- 
responding intelligence,  to  carry  on  the  business  entrusted 


24  MEMOIRS,  &c.,  &c. 

to  each,  in  his  sphere.  And  then  the  experience  acquired 
after  a  long  service  in  the  various  departments  of  the 
government,  is  of  incalculable  value,  not  to  the  govern- 
ment only,  but  to  all  having  business  with  it.  To  dismiss 
from  office,  in  those  days,  without  cause — and  there  could 
be  no  cause  for  turning  an  incumbent  out  of  office 
except  incompetency,  neglect  of  duty,  or  dishonesty — and 
especially  the  dismissal  of  a  bureau  officer  or  clerk,  for 
any  other  than  one  or  all  of  these  causes,  would  have  been 
deemed  an  outrage,  no  less  against  the  public  interests, 
than  the  party  proscribed.  Hence,  competency,  zeal,  and 
honesty,  being  the  characteristics  of  the  clerks  I  found  in 
the  office  of  Indian  trade,  when  I  succeeded  to  its  manage- 
ment, it  no  more  occurred  to  me  to  turn  them  out,  than  it 
did  to  cut  their  throats.  We  met,  and  continued  each  to 
perform  his  appropriate  duties,  until  death  deprived  me  of 
the  services  of  Mr.  Rich,  and  the  abolition  of  the  office, 
by  act  of  Congress,  of  further  use  for  the  services  of  the 
rest.  We  parted  as  we  had  met— friends. 

The  act  abolishing  the  United  States  Indian  trade  estab- 
lishment, which  was  passed  May  6, 1822,  provided  for  the 
appointment  of  an  agent  to  wind  up  the  concern.  George 
Graham,  Esq.,  a  most  estimable  citizen,  was  selected  for 
this  duty.  When  I  succeeded  General  Mason,  the  entire 
property,  in  merchandise  and  cash,  &c.,  was  invoiced,  and 
the  amount  credited  to  him,  and  charged  to  me.  So,  in 
like  manner,  when  Mr.  Graham  succeeded  me,  all  the  mer- 
chandise and  cash,  &c.,  was  charged  to  Mr.  Graham,  and 
credited  to  me.  I  gave  back  over  thirty  thousand  dollars 
to  Mr.  Graham,  more  than  I  had  received  of  G^ieral  Ma- 
son— everything  being  charged,  both  ways,  at  cost.  But 
this  was,  perhaps,  as  much  the  result  of  accident,  as  of 
forecast  or  good  management ;  for  the  law  having  contem- 
plated no  more  than  the  preservation  of  the  capital,  if  the 
business  had  been  wound  up  immediately  after  the  sacrifice 
that  had  been  made  on  the  sale  of  the  unsuitable  articles 


MEMOIRS,  &c.,  &c.  25 

which  have  been  referred  to ;  or  after  one  of  those  seasons 
which  occasionally  occurred,  when  the  worms  obtained 
the  mastery,  and  the  fragments  of  their  ravages,  not  being 
worth  the  cost  of  transportation  to  market,  were  thrown 
into  the  lake  or  the  Mississippi,  the  balance,  even  to  a 
greater  amount,  might  have  been  found  on  the  other  side 
of  the  ledger.  In  this  case,  a  fruitful  theme  would  doubt- 
less have  been  furnished,  in  which  both  my  competency 
and  integrity  would  have  been  assailed.  As  it  was — al- 
though I  had,  in  my  reports,  urged  the  passage  of  laws  for 
the  protection  of  the  system  from  the  inroads  made  upon 
it  by  the  whiskey  traffic  of  traders,  or,  if  Congress  should 
not  see  fit  to  pass  such  laws,  then  that  the  system  had  bet- 
ter be  abolished — I  was  assailed  by  Hon.  Thomas  H.  Ben- 
ton,  of  the  United  States  Senate,  with  such  severity  and 
bitterness,  as  indicated  a  purpose  not  to  abolish  the  factory 
system,  only,  but  to  demolish  my  humble  self  along  with 
it.  It  was  quite  natural,  perhaps,  that  Mr.  Benton  should 
kindle  up  into  an  uncommon  zeal,  and  make  war  with  extra 
energy  upon  whatever  connected  itself  with  the  United 
States  factory  system,  seeing  that  the  Missouri  Fur  Com- 
pany had  much  at  stake  in  the  result,  and  he  was  the  legit- 
imate organ  of  the  individuals  composing  it.  That  gentle- 
man's speech,  in  the  Senate,  on  his  proposition  to  abolish 
the  government  trade,  being  marked  with  special  rancor 
towards  myself,  personally,  I  felt  called  upon  to  reply  to  him, 
which  I  did,  through  the  National  Intelligencer.  (See 
Appendix,  A.) 

When  President  Monroe  read  Mr.  Benton's  speech,  he 
said  to  a  friend  who  communicated  the  fact  to  me,  "  I  am 
made  unhappy  by  this  attack  of  Colonel  Benton  upon  Colo- 
nel McKenney."  On  reading  my  answer,  he  said  to  the 
same  person,  "I  am  relieved.  Colonel  McKenney  has 
completely  vindicated  himself.  He  is  what  I  always  be- 
lieved him  to  be.  My  confidence  in  him  is  unimpaired."' 
Besides  the  large  disbursements  made,  annually,  in  the 

VOL.   I.  4 


26  MEMOIRS,  &c.,  &c. 

purchase  of  supplies  for  the  trade,  it  was  made  my  duty, 
also,  to  disburse  the  sums  due  to  the  various  Indian  tribes, 
on  account  of  the  annuities  due  them ;  nearly  the  whole  of 
which,  in  those  days,  were  paid,  not  in  money,  of  which 
they  were  very  certain  to  be  robbed,  but  in  useful  articles 
of  merchandise.  This  duty  added  very  much  to  my  la- 
bors and  responsibility.  I  saw  my  position,  appreciated 
its  delicacy,  and  prepared  against  any  possible  contingency. 
One  of  my  rules  was,  never  to  fill  up  and  number  a  check 
for  money,  but  to  have  this  done  by  either  my  book-keep- 
er or  chief  clerk,  whose  duty  it  was  made  to  hand  the 
check  to  me,  in  company  with  the  invoice,  or  whatever 
expenditure  it  was  intended  to  pay,  with  the  attest  of  the 
examining  clerk,  that  the  sum,  and  all  the  details,  were  cor- 
rect, when  I  signed  the  check.  Another  was,  to  keep  sepa- 
rate my  public  and  private  accounts,  and  never,  under  any 
emergency,  to  touch,  either  for  my  own  use,  or  the  use  of 
my  friends,  a  cent  of  the  public  money.  In  not  a  single 
case  were  these  rules  departed  from.  Another  was,  to 
take  triplicate  vouchers,  in  all  cases ;  one  set  for  the  Trea- 
sury Department,  one  for  my  office  proper,  and  the  third 
for  a  safety  vault.  This  latter  precaution  saved  me  from 
utter  ruin,  as  the  sequel  will  show. 

I  took  up  a  paper,  one  morning,  and  read,  in  substance, 
what  follows  : — "  Whenever  Colonel  McKenney's  accounts 
shall  be  settled,  he  will  be  found  a  defaulter  to  the  amount  of 
one  hundred  and  twenty  thousand  dollars  /"  I  called  up  my 
chief  clerk,  Mr.  Bronaugh,  and  showing  him  the  paper, 
asked  what  it  could  mean.  He  did  not  know.  Have  not 
the  quarterly  returns  been  sent  in?  I  asked.  "Yes,  sir." 
Who  took  them?  "Mr.  Rich,  always,  except  on  one  oc- 
casion, when  he  being  sick,  I  took  them  myself."  I  lost 
no  time  in  going  to  the  Auditor's  office,  taking  Mr.  Bro- 
naugh with  me.  To  the  inquiry,  of  the  auditor — Are  my 
accounts  settled,  sir  ?  I  was  referred  to  his  clerk.  Of  him 
I  received  for  answer,  "  They  are,  sir,  so  far  as  they  can 


MEMOIRS,  &c.,  &c.  27 

be."  I  soon  learned  the  obstacle  to  be  "  the  absence  of  vouch- 
ers /"  I  called  for  the  returns,  in  which  they  were  alleged 
to  be  missing.  They  were  presented,  when,  sure  enough, 
they  were  unaccompanied,  in  great  part,  by  vouchers! 
Whereupon  Mr.  Bronaugh  said, "  These  returns  were  made 
up  by  myself;  and  I  am  ready  to  swear,  that  when  I  brought 
them  to  this  office,  there  was  not  omitted  a  single  voucher" 
I  saw  the  ties  had  been  severed,  and  the  whole  package 
bore  marks  of  mutilation;  so  without  troubling  the  clerk 
with  further  inquiries,  I  directed  Mr.  Bronaugh  to  take  up 
the  package,  which  he  did. 

I  immediately  made  known  the  affair  to  the  Secretary  of 
War,  telling  him  that  I  had,  yet,  duplicate  vouchers.  He 
rang  his  bell,  sent  his  messenger  for  the  auditor,  who,  on 
appearing,  was  requested  to  put  his  entire  force  on  my  ac- 
counts, and  keep  it  there,  until  they  were  settled.  I  fur- 
nished duplicates,  but  did  not  feel  at  liberty  to  allow  them 
to  pass  out  of  my  clerk's  hands,  except  as  they  should  be 
admitted  and  entered.  The  remainder  were  brought  away 
and  taken  back,  from  time  to  time,  till  all  was  settled,  when 
this  one  hundred  and  twenty  thousand  dollars  of  alleged 
defalcation  had  no  basis  to  rest  upon,  either  in  whole,  or 
in  part,  and  the  books  of  the  auditor  so  demonstrated  it. 
And  yet,  as  the  rancor  of  the  press — of  which  this  was 
only  the  premonitory  symptom — began  to  break  forth,  this 
assault  upon  my  official  integrity  was  kept  going,  whenev- 
er, and  wherever,  the  party  charging  it  thought  there  could 
be  any  political  capital  made  out  of  it.  I  can  never  know, 
nor  can  any  body  ever  know,  the  extent  of  the  mischief 
which  this  aspersion  produced,  upon  both  my  name  and  my 
circumstances.  I  was  met  by  it  everywhere ;  and  in  many 
instances  could  see  confidence  in  me  giving  way  before  its 
withering  tendencies. 

Quite  a  formal  disinterring  of  the  charge  was  made  as 
recently  as  1840;  and,  pending  the  canvass  which  resulted 
in  the  election  of  General  Harrison  to  the  Presidency,  I 


28  MEMOIRS,  &c.,  &c. 

was  put  to  the  trouble  to  exhibit  the  original  document 
which  testified  that  all  my  public  accounts,  as  well  those  re- 
lating to  the  trade,  as  to  the  annuities,  were  settled,  showing 
a  balance  in  my  favor.  I  shall  insert  this  document  in  the 

sequel, 

But  I  was  subjected  to  other,  and  scarcely  le*ss  injurious 
attacks.  The  amount  of  supplies  which  I  purchased,  an- 
nually >  was  great.  My  rule  in  regard  to  purchasing  was  a 
fixed  one.  It  was,  to  give  as  wide  a  range  as  I  could  to 
the  demand,  its  nature,  and  variety ;  and  to  produce  all  the 
competition  I  could,  I  gave  samples  of  the  kinds  of  articles 
which  were  required  in  the  Indian  trade — even,  for  the 
purpose  of  making  them  portable,  to  the  cutting  of  guns 
in  two.  But  I  made  no  commitment  to  purchase  of  any 
one,  except  on  the  following  conditions :  First,  that  the 
importations  should  be  in  time.  Second,  that  the  quality 
and  fitness  of  the  article  should  be  entirely  acceptable; 
and  Third,  that  the  prices  should  be  as  low  as  like  articles 
could,  be  elsewhere  commanded.  All  this  I  knew  involved 
contingences,  on  the  part  of  the  merchant,  but  these  were 
often  encountered.  It  rarely  happened  that  any  single 
importer  ordered  all  the  varieties,  but  all  were  ordered ; 
and  the  general  result  was,  a  market  well  stocked  with  ar- 
ticles, which,  but  for  this  policy,  would  have  furnished  very 
few  of  them,  for  the  reason  that  almost  all  kinds  of  goods 
suited  to  the  Indian  trade,  are  wholly  different  from  goods 
required  by  civilized  communities.  And  this  superior  mar- 
ket was  in  the  District  of  Columbia,  where  more  suitable 
goods  could  be  at  all  times  had,  than  could  be  found  in  any 
of  the  cities  of  the  Union.  The  mercantile  principle, "  that 
wherever  a  demand  exists,  there  will  be  found  a  correspond- 
ing ability  to  supply  it,"  was  never  more  fully  illustrated 
and  established. 

But  I  could  not  deal  with  every  body.  There  were  mer- 
chants, some  of  whom  went  to  Europe,  expressly  for  the 
purpose,  who,  by  a  closer  attention,  and  a  more  active  ob- 


MEMOIRS,   &c.,  &c.  29 

servation  of  the  nature  of  the  supplies  wanted,  the  time 
when  wanted,  and  the  value  of  the  articles,  would  be  better 
qualified  to  supply  the  demand,  than  were  others  who  were 
less  vigilant,  and  less  intelligent.  The  consequence  was, 
that  anonymous  letters  were  addressed  to  the  committee 
of  Indian  affairs,  of  the  House  of  Representatives,  charg- 
ing me  with  partiality,  and  with  making  purchases  of  favor- 
ites, to  the  exclusion  of  persons  who  were  prepared  to  sell 
to  the  public  better,  more  suitable,  and  cheaper  goods.  I 
was  summoned  to  appear  before  the  committee.  An  inves- 
tigation, in  due  form,  was  made.  The  parties  named  by 
the  anonymous  prosecutors,  were  summoned  before  the 
committee,  and  questioned  under  the  solemnities  of  an 
oath.  With  what  success  I  escaped  from  this  searching 
ordeal,  the  reader  may  see  by  referring  to  Appendix.  (B.) 

A  useful  lesson  may  be  drawn  from  these  facts — a  lesson 
that  may  teach  the  numerous  aspirants  for  public  office, 
that  there  are  not  only  duties  to  be  performed,  when  the 
goal  of  their  ambition  is  reached,  but  that  priceless  pearl, 
"  a  good  name"  is  constantly  in  danger  of  being  torn  from 
them,  no  matter  how  cautious  they  may  be,  how  honest, 
or  how  capable,  or  how  devoted  to  the  duties  of  the  trust 
which  they  seek  to  encounter.  Few  men,  somebody  has 
said,  bring  out  of  office  the  same  good  character  they  took 
into  it. 

It  is  not  only  the  personal  suffering  which  an  assault 
upon  one's  good  name  causes,  but  a  suffering  coming  from 
the  sympathy  of  friends  which  combines  with  it,  as  well 
as  the  effects  which  are  not  unfrequently  seen  to  desolate 
one's  property.  I  was  made  to  endure  all  these.  Nor 
does  the  charge,  like  the  destructive  flash,  exhaust  itself 
in  the  explosion.  If  it  did,  it  could  be  better  borne,  as 
well  as  endured  with  less  suffering.  A  man's  virtues  may 
be  heralded,  and  the  remembrance  of  them  soon  dies ;  but 
affix  to  his  name  and  character  a  charge,  of  no  matter 


30  MEMOIRS,   &c.,  &c. 

what  sort,  involving  his  reputation,  and  it  never  dies ! 
What  if  I  did  exhibit  to  thousands,  and  publish  in  the 
press,  the  utter  falsity  of  the  imputation  that  I  was  a 
government  defaulter,  as  charged  upon  me  in  the  manner 
stated ;  did  that  wipe  out  the  stain  which  the  annuncia- 
tion implicating  me  in  that  charge,  had  affixed  to  my 
character  ?  As  I  have  said,  it  was  revived  and  circulated 
from  the  time  it  was  made,  till  1840,  and  its  flickerings 
have  not  ceased  to  blaze  up  even  to  this  day.  About  the 
time  of  my  dismissal,  by  command  of  President  Jackson, 
from  my  office,  as  Chief  of  the  Bureau  of  Indian  Affairs, 
in  August,  1830,  the  implication  had  new  vigor  imparted 
to  it  by  the  refusal  to  close  my  public  accounts,  which, 
being  kept  open,  gave  sanction  to  the  assertion  that  all 
had  not  been  right  in  my  public  disbursements,  or  in  my 
accountability  for  the  same.  Four  years,  from  1829  to 
1833,  was  this  state  of  things  continued ;  when,  at  last, 
all  the  injury  that  could  be  done  me,  arising  out  the  story 
of  unsettled  accounts,  having  been  endured,  an  order  was 
given  to  settle  them.  They  were  settled.  How  that 
settlement  resulted,  will  be  shown  hereafter.  It  has  always 
been  a  source  of  consolation  to  me,  that  this  settlement 
was  not  made  by  officers  connected  with  the  political 
party  of  my  preference — but  by  those  who  occupied 
towards  me  relations  of  a  totally  different  sort.  There 
have  been  periods  in  the  history  of  this  government  when 
political  feelings  were  not  permitted  to  mingle  with  official 
accountability  and  duty ;  and  when  the  moral  sense  of  an  ac- 
counting officer  of  one  political  party  would  not  permit  him 
to  overlay,  or  blur,  or  delay  the  settlement  of  the  accounts 
of  a  disbursing  officer,  because  his  political  preferences 
did  not  happen  to  run  in  the  same  direction  with  his  own. 
But  this  was  before  political  intolerance  was  tolerated ;  and 
before  that  "  Hydra,"  as  "  Party"  had  been  so  characteris- 
tically denominated  by  General  Jackson,  had  so  severed 


MEMOIRS.  &c..  &c.  31 

the  ties  of  a  national  brotherhood,  and  gathered  round  it 
its  "friends"  as  to  exclude  from  any  participation  in  the 
government,  if  not  the  greater,  yet  a  large  portion  of  the 
purest  patriotism,  and  most  renowned  wisdom  and  intelli- 
gence of  the  country.  A  ban  was  literally  put  upon  it. 


32  MEMOIRS,   &c.,  <fec. 


CHAPTER  II. 

IMPROVEMENT,  MORAL    AND  INTELLECTUAL,   OF    THE    INDI- 
ANS.      PRESIDENT     MONROE ANECDOTES    ILLUSTRATING 

HIS     CHARACTER. 

Fourth  of  July  address — Subsequent  reflections — Wrongs  of  the  Indian — Corres- 
pondence with  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Gambold — The  Cherokees — Their  reluctance  to 
intercourse  with  the  Whites — Capacity  for  improvement — Plan  for  elevating 
their  condition — Appropriation  by  Congress  for  this  purpose — Effects  of  this 
plan — David  Brown's  letter — Progress  of  civilization  among  the  Cherokees — 
Commission  annulled — Re-appointed — Fourth  Auditor  Treasury,  almost — Mr. 
Monroe's  scruples — His  sensitiveness  to  reproach — Interview  with  him  just 
before  his  death — Charged  with  undermining  General  Armstrong — Facts  in 
the  case — The  British  forces  in  the  Chesapeake — Affair  of  Bladensburg — 
General  Armstrong  vindicated — Mr.  Monroe's  personal  efforts  and  sacrifices 
in  1814— The  General  Post-Office—Mr.  M'Lean's  appointment— What  led  to  it. 

IT  was  during  my  superintendency  of  the  United  States 
Indian  Trade  Department,  that  my  feelings  became  first 
interested  for  the  welfare  of  the  Indians.  I  had  delivered 
a  Fourth  of  July  address  to  the  citizens  of  Washington  and 
Georgetown,  in  a  beautiful  grove  on  the  heights  of  the 
latter,  when,  on  reaching  my  home  that  evening,  my 
thoughts  became  occupied  with  the  condition  and  pros- 
pects of  the  Indians.  I  had  been  talking  of  liberty  and 
independence,  of  the  glory  of  our  institutions,  the  grandeur 
of  our  system,  and  of  our  future  destiny,  and  of  the  sacri- 
fices of  blood  and  treasure  that  had  been  made  to  secure  all 
these — but  had  not  thought  of  those  to  whose  country 
we  had  succeeded,  and  who  had  been  driven  by  our  in- 
justice and  cruelty  from  river  to  river,  and  from  forest 
to  forest,  until  not  only  they  had  become  lost  to  our  sight, 


MEMOIRS,   &c.,  &c.  33 

but  even  their  memorials,  along  nearly  the  whole  of  the 
Atlantic  border,  were  also  consigned  to  oblivion,  except 
where  the  plough  turned  up  their  stone  axes  and  arrow 
points.  No  remains  were  left  of  their  villages,  or  the 
ashes  of  their  council  fires,  both  having  long  since  become 
mingled  with  the  warrior's  bones,  and  the  bows  and  arrows 
of  the  hunter.  I  had  been  engaged  in  sending  to  survivors 
upon  the  western  border  articles  of  both  taste  and  neces- 
sity, but  as  yet  no  great  plan,. alike  worthy  of  this  noble 
race,  and  of  this  great  nation,  had  been  devised  for  the 
preservation  and  happiness  of  the  former. 

The  next  day  a  newspaper  fell  into  my  hand,  in  which 
was  a  letter  from  the  Reverend  John  Gambold,  dated, 
"  Spring  Place,  Cherokee  Country"  This  good  man  was 
a  Moravian  and  a  missionary.  From  this  letter  I  learned 
something  of  his  hopes  and  prospects  in  regard  to  the  con- 
dition of  the  Cherokees.  I  immediately  opened  a  corres- 
pondence with  him,  as  also  with  his  "  help-mate" — for  she 
was  truly  such — which  continued  with  both  of  them  till 
their  death.  This  estimable  lady,  well  known  at  Bethle- 
hem, in  Pennsylvania,  as  "  Sister  Kliest"  had  separated 
herself  from  her  charge,  as  directress  of  the  Bethlehem 
academy,  to  unite  her  destiny  with  the  good  Mr.  Gambold, 
and  assist  him  in  his  missionary  labors,  among,  at  that 
time,  an  almost  benighted  people,  no  longer  as  "  Sister 
Kliest,"  but  as  "  Anna  R.  Gambold"  I  cannot  resist  the 
inclination  to  make  the  reader  better  acquainted  with  these 
estimable  people.  They  may  be  seen  in  the  light  of  their 
own  goodness  in  a  few  extracts  from  their  letters  to  me, 
which  may  be  found  in  the  Appendix.  (C.) 

Such  was  the  dread  of  the  Cherokees  of  the  approach 
of  the  white  man,  that  Mr.  Gambold,  who  enjoyed  their 
confidence  in  a  greater  degree  than  any  white  man  then 
living,  could  not  prevail  upon  them  to  allow  a  road  to  be 
opened  through  a  part  of  their  country,  although  it  was 
indispensable  to  their  own  convenience,  in  their  travel  to^ 

VOL.   I.  5 


34  MEMOIRS,  &c.,  &c. 

and  from  places  of  trade  and  barter,  and  to  the  means  of 
a  more  comfortable  living.  They  were  not  to  learn  for 
the  first  time  the  tender  mercies  of  the  white  man,  and, 
therefore,  feared  that  the  opening  a  way  for  their  own 
accommodation,  might  be  to  open  one,  also,  for  his  advan- 
ces, and  for  afflictions  for  themselves  that  had  never  failed 
to  accompany  him.  They  preferred  their  own  present  lot, 
rather,  than  by  this  attempt  to  improve  it,  to  involve  them- 
selves in  this  much  dreaded  contingency. 

I  did  not  doubt  then,  nor  do  I  now,  the  capacity  of  the 
Indian  for  the  highest  attainments  in  civilization,  in  the 
arts  and  religion,*  but  I  was  satisfied  that  no  adequate 
plan  had  ever  been  adopted  for  this  great  reformation. 
Proof  enough,  however,  had  been  elicited  by  the  labors  of 
good  men,  to  satisfy  me  that  the  Indian  was,  in  his  intel- 
lectual and  moral  structure,  our  equal.  I  therefore  sought 
to  introduce  a  system  adequate  alike  in  its  extent  and  ele- 
ments, and  in  the  means  to  sustain  it,  for  the  promotion  of 
the  future  happiness  of  his  race.  This  I  knew  could  be 
accomplished,  only,  by  act  of  Congress.  Having  witness- 
ed a  feeling  in  several  of  the  churches,  as  also  in  asso- 
ciations for  alleviating  the  distresses  of  the  Indians,  I 
determined  to  give  effect  to  it,  if  I  could,  in  the  only  way 
in  which,  as  I  believed,  it  could  be  made  successfully,  and 
permanently  useful. 

A  period  had  now  arrived — I  believe  it  was  in  the  year 
1817  or  1818,  I  forget  which — that  appeared  to  me  to 
be  propitious  for  the  making  of  the  experiment.  There 
was  general  tranquillity  among  the  Indians,  as  well  as  the 

*  Notwithstanding  the  hardness  of  the  destiny  of  the  Cherokees — the  oppres- 
sions that  have  been  heaped  upon  them ;  the  contrivances  resorted  to,  even  in 
high  places,  for  the  purpose  of  retarding  their  advances  in  letters  and  learning, 
and  to  deprive  them  of  the  privileges  resulting  from  an  organized  government  of 
their  own ;  it  is  my  firm  belief  that,  in  proportion  to  population,  there  are  more 
Cherokees  who  read,  either  the  English  or  their  own  tongue,  the  latter  by  means 
of  an  alphabet  invented  by  one  of  themselves,  than  can  be  found  among  the  whites 
in  any  of  the  States  of  the  Union. 


MEMOIRS,   «fec.,  &c.  35 

kindest  dispositions  towards  them  in  the  executive.  No 
exciting  onsets  were  being  made  to  dislodge  them  from 
their  homes,  or  to  jostle  them  in  their  possessions,  or 
alarm  and  distract  them  in  the  enjoyment  of  them.  Be- 
sides, there  were  now  several  missionary  stations  already 
in  operation,  though  on  a  small  scale,  all  of  them  furnish- 
ing proof  that  a  plan  commensurate  to  the  object,  would 
reform  and  save,  and  bless  this  long  neglected,  and  down- 
trodden people.  I  was  convinced  that  if  a  general  expres- 
sion of  the  popular  will  could  be  made  to  Congress,  by  the 
instrumentality  of  memorials,  backed  by  committees  to 
present  them  in  person,  the  great  design  would  be  accom- 
plished. I  accordingly  addressed  circulars  to  as  many 
of  the  corresponding  secretaries  of  associations  for  me- 
liorating the  condition  of  the  Indians,  as  were  known  to 
me,  as  also  to  such  other  Christian  people  as  I  thought 
itjikely  would  co-operate  in  this  work  of  mercy,  recom- 
mending a  general  action  in  as  many  states  as  could  be 
reached,  and  that  memorials  should  be  sent  from  each, 
borne  by  committees  of  their  most  honored  men  to  Wash- 
ington, and  presented  simultaneously  to  Congress;  the 
committees  urging  in  person,  upon  their  respective  repre- 
sentatives, their  prompt  and  zealous  attention  to  the  prayer 
of  the  petitioners. 

The  recommendation  was  adopted,  and  carried  out  to 
the  letter.  The  result  was^  a  prompt  action  by  Congress 
upon  the  subject,  and  an  annual  appropriation  made  of  ten 
thousand  dollars,  "  for  the  civilization  of  the  Indian  tribes 
adjoining  the  frontier  settlements."  Regulations  were  issu- 
ed by  the  War  Department  (Mr.  Calhoun  being  Secretary) 
for  the  carrying  of  this  act  into  effect.  Upon  these,  a 
system  was  put  in  operation,  the  beneficial  effects  of  which, 
upon  the  condition  and  happiness  of  the  Indians,  were  felt 
from  Lake  Superior,  to  the  Chattahoochee,  in  Georgia. 
Everywhere  the  schools  flourished,  and  when  I  left  the 
department  in  1830,  there  were"  over  eighteen  hundred 


36  MEMOIRS,  &c.,  &c. 

Indian  children  in  these  schools,  deriving  instruction,  and 
making  as  rapid  advances  in  the  various  incipient  branches 
of  learning,  in  agriculture,  and  the  mechanic  arts,  as  are 
made  in  any  part  of  the  United  States  by  the  children  of 
the  whites.  Everywhere,  the  day  seemed  to  have  come, 
when  "  the  wilderness  was  to  blossom  as  the  rose."  But 
let  a  son  of  the  forest,  a  youth,  and  over  whose  mind  had 
rested,  but  a  few  years  previous,  the  mantle  of  paganism 
and  ignorance,  tell  of  this  change  in  the  condition,  and 
hopes,  and  prospects  of  his  hitherto  benighted  people. 
The  writer  was  David  Brown,  of  the  Cherokee  nation ; 
and  his  communication  (extracts  from  which  I  subjoin) 
was  made  to  the  editor  of  the  Family  Visiter,  at  Rich- 
mond, Virginia,  and  bears  date  Willstown,  Cherokee  Na- 
tion, September  2d,  1825. 

"  In  my  last  letter  from  Creek  pa.th  to  you,  I  stated  that 
there  was  some  probability  of  my  returning  to  Arkansas, 
dec.,  &c.,  and  referred  to  the  improved  condition  of  the 
Cherokees  on  this  side  of  the  Mississippi,  in  a  moral,  intel- 
lectual, and  religious  point  of  view,  &c. ;  to  the  slow  pro- 
gress I  make  in  translating  the  New  Testament,  in  conse- 
quence of  the  non-existence  of  a  dictionary,  or  complete 
grammar,  in  Cherokee — and  to  the  philological  researches 
of  one  in  the  nation,  whose  system  of  education  had  met 
with  universal  approbation,  &c.  Allow  me,  dear  sir,  now, 
the  pleasure  to  fulfil  the  promise  I  made  you,  that  I  would 
pick  up  and  send  you  what  I  had  omitted.  Recently  I  have 
been  travelling  a  good  deal  in  the  nation,  in  order  to  regain 
my  impaired  health.  My  Heavenly  Sovereign  permitting, 
I  expect  to  return  to  Arkansas  in  the  month  of  October 
next.  I  have  made  a  hasty  translation  of  the  four  Gospels, 
which  will  require  a  close  criticism.  On  my  arrival  at 
Dwight,  I  shall  pursue  the  delightful  work ;  and  I  hope  the 
day  is  not  far  distant,  when  the  Cherokees,  my  brethren 
and  kindred,  according  to  the  flesh,  shall  read  the  words  of 
eternal  life,  in  their  own  tongue.  I  will  here  give  you  a 


MEMOIRS,  &c.,  &c.  37 

faint  picture  of  the  Cherokee  nation  and  its  inhabitants. 
In  the  meantime,  however,  it  must  be  borne  in  mind,  that  it 
is  the  mass  and  common  people  that  form  the  character  of 
a  nation,  and  not  officers  of  government,  nor  the  lowest 
grade  of  peasantry. 

"  The  Cherokee  nation,  you  know,  is  in  about  thirty-five 
degrees  north  latitude ;  bounded  on  the  north  and  west  by 
the  State  of  Tennessee,  on  the  south  by  Alabama,  and  on 
the  east  by  Georgia  and  North  Carolina.  This  country  is 
well  watered ;  abundant  springs  of  pure  water  are  found 
in  every  part.  A  range  of  majestic  and  lofty  mountains 
stretch  themselves  across  the  nation.  The  northern  part 
of  the  nation  is  hilly  and  mountainous.  In  the  southern 
and  western  parts,  there  are  extensive  and  fertile  plains, 
covered  partly  with  tall  trees,  through  which  beautiful 
streams  of  water  glide.  These  plains  furnish  immense  pas- 
turage, and  numberless  herds  of  cattle  are  dispersed  over 
them.  Horses  are  plenty,  and  are  used  for  servile  purpo- 
ses. Numerous  flocks  of  sheep,  goats,  and  swine,  cover 
the  valleys  and  hills.  On  Tennessee,  Ustanala,  and  Cana- 
sagi  rivers,  Cherokee  commerce  floats.  The  climate  is 
delicious  and  healthy ;  the  winters  are  mild.  The  spring 
clothes  the  ground  with  its  richest  scenery.  Cherokee 
flowers,  of  exquisite  beauty  and  variegated  hues,  meet  and 
fascinate  the  eye  in  every  direction.  In  the  plains  and 
valleys,  the  soil  is  generally  rich ;  producing  Indian  corn, 
cotton,  tobacco,  wheat,  oats,  indigo,  sweet  and  Irish  pota- 
toes. The  natives  carry  on  considerable  trade  with  the 
adjoining  States ;  and  some  of  them  export  cotton  in  boats 
down  the  Tennessee,  to  the  Mississippi,  and  down  that 
river  to  New  Orleans.  Apple  and  peach  orchards  are  quite 
common,  and  gardens  are  cultivated,  and  much  attention 
paid  to  them. 

"  Butter  and  cheese  are  seen  on  Cherokee  tables.  There 
are  many  public  roads  in  the  nation,  and  houses  of  enter- 


38  MEMOIRS,  &c.,  &c. 

tainment  kept  by  natives.  Numerous  and  flourishing  vil- 
lages are  seen  in  every  section  of  the  country.  Cotton 
and  woollen  cloths  are  manufactured  here.  Blankets,  of 
various  dimensions,  manufactured  by  Cherokee  hands,  are 
very  common.  Almost  every  family  in  the  nation  grows 
cotton  for  its  own  consumption.  Industry  and  commercial 
enterprise  are  extending  themselves  in  every  part.  Nearly 
all  the  merchants  in  the  nation  are  native  Cherokees. 
Agricultural  pursuits,  (the  most  solid  foundation  of  our  na- 
tional prosperity,)  engage  the  chief  attention  of  the  people. 
Different  branches  in  mechanics  are  pursued.  The  popu- 
lation is  rapidly  increasing.  In  the  year  1819,  an  estimate 
was  made  of  all  Cherokees.  Those  on  the  west,  were  es- 
timated at  5,000,  and  those  on  the  east  of  the  Mississippi, 
at  10,000  souls.  The  census  of  this  division  of  the  Chero- 
kees has  again  been  taken  within  the  current  year,  and  the 
returns  are  thus  made — native  citizens,  13,563  ;  white  men 
married  in  the  nation,  147 ;  white  women  married  in  the 
nation,  73 ;  African  slaves,  1,277.  If  this  summary  of 
Cherokee  population  from  the  census  is  correct,  to  say 
nothing  of  those  of  foreign  extract,  we  find  that,  in  six 
years,  the  increase  has  been  3,563  souls.  If  we  judge  the 
future  by  the  past,  to  what  number  will  the  Cherokee  pop- 
ulation swell  in  1858?* 

"White  men  in  the  nation  enjoy  all  the  immunities  and 
privileges  of  the  Cherokee  people,  except  that  they  are  not 
eligible  to  public  offices.  In  the  above  computation  of  the 

*  Alas !  it  was  not  given  to  this  gifted  youth  to  foresee  that  a  day  was  coming, 
and  was  even  then  near  at  hand,  when  the  plough-share  of  sectional  and  political 
power  would  turn  up  and  turn  over  all  these  visions ;  and  that  when  a  just  appre- 
ciation of  the  Cherokees  of  their  own  advances  in  the  mechanics  and  the  arts, 
and  religion,  caused  them  to  cling  closer  and  closer  to  their  beautiful  country,  and 
to  refuse  to  sell  or  exchange  it,  a  device  would  be  resorted  to,  by  which,  without 
their  consent,  they  would  be  forced  to  cross  the  Mississippi,  pursued  by  those 
elements  of  distraction  which  such  flagrant  injustice  and  high-handed  oppression 
combined  to  create.  I  need  not  say  that  I  refer  here  to  the  miscalled  treaty  of 
New  Euchota. 


MEMOIRS,  &c.,  <fec.  39 

present  year,  you  perceive  that  there  are  some  African 
slaves  among  us.  They  have  been,  from  time  to  time, 
brought  in  and  sold  by  white  men.  They  are,  however, 
generally  well  treated,  and  they-  much  prefer  living  in  the 
nation,  to  a  residence  in  the  United  States.  There  is 
hardly  any  intermixture  of  Cherokee  and  African  blood. 
The  presumption  is,  that  the  Cherokees  will,  at  no  distant 
day,  co-operate  with  the  humane  efforts  of  those  who  are 
liberating  and  sending  this  proscribed  race  to  the  land  of 
their  fathers.  National  pride,  patriotism,  and  a  spirit  of 
independence,  mark  the  Cherokee  character. 

"The  Christian  religion  is  the  religion  of  the  nation. 
Presbyterians,  Methodists,  Baptists,  and  Moravians,  are 
the  most  numerous  sects.  Some  of  the  most  influential 
characters  are  members  of  the  church,  and  live  consistently 
with  their  professions.  The  whole  nation  is  penetrated 
with  gratitude  for  the  aid  it  has  received  from  the  United 
States  government,  and  from  different  religious  societies. 
Schools  are  increasing  every  year;  learning  is  encouraged 
and  rewarded.  The  young  class  acquire  the  English,  and 
those  of  more  mature  age,  the  Cherokee  system  of  learn- 
ing. The  female  character  is  elevated,  and  duly  respected. 
Indolence  is  discountenanced.  Our  native  language,  in  its 
philosophy,  genius  and  symphony,  is  inferior  to  few,  if  any, 
in  the  world.  Our  relations  with  all  nations,  savage  or 
civilized,  are  of  the  most  friendly  character.  We  are  out 
of  debt,  and  our  public  revenue  is  in  a  flourishing  condi- 
tion. Besides  the  amount  arising  from  imports,  a  perpetual 
annuity  is  due  from  the  United  States,  in  consideration  of 
lands  ceded  in  former  periods.  Our  system  of  government, 
founded  on  republican  principles,  by  which  justice  is  equally 
distributed,  secures  the  respect  of  the  people.  Newtown, 
pleasantly  situated  in  the  centre  of  the  nation,  and  at  the 
junction  of  Canasagi  and  Gusuwati,  two  beautiful  streams, 
is  the  seat  of  government.  The  legislative  power  is  vest- 


40  MEMOIRS,  &c.,  &c. 

ed  in  what  is  denominated,  in  native  dialect,  Tsalagi  Tini- 
lawigi,  consisting  of  a  national  committee  and  council. 
Members  of  both  branches  are  chosen  by  and  from  the 
people,  for  a  limited  period.  In  Newtown,  a  printing-press 
is  soon  to  be  established;  also  a  national  library  and  a 
museum.  Immense  concourses  of  the  people  frequent  the 
seat  of  government  when  Tsalagi  Tinilawigi  is  in  session, 
which  takes  place  once  a  year." 

The  first  regular  school  established  among  the  Chero- 
kees,  was  in  the  year  1817 — (incipient  steps  had  been  ta- 
ken, however,  before  that) — so  that  all  this  culture,  and 
this  converting  the  waste  into  a  garden,  was  the  product 
of  the  labor  of  only  about  eight  years.  It  was  during  my 
superintendency  of  the  government  trade  with  the  Indians, 
and,  as  I  have  before  stated,  in  1818  or  1819,  that  I  ad- 
dressed the  circular  before  referred  to,  to  the  correspond- 
ing secretaries  and  others  friendly  to  the  cause  of  the 
Indians,  and  to  their  rescue  from  the  sad  condition  in  which 
they  were  everywhere  known  to  be;  and  in  1819,  the  act 
of  Congress  was  passed,  appropriating  the  annual  sum  of 
$10,000  for  their  benefit.  It  was  in  the  same  year  that  an 
act  was  passed  by  Congress,  annulling  the  power  of  the 
President  to  appoint  the  officers  for  the  trade  department, 
without  the  consent  of  the  Senate.  On  the  passage  of  this 
act,  which  I  interpreted  as  annulling  my  own  commission, 
as  also  the  commissions  of  the  factors  and  clerks,  &c.,  I 
waited  on  President  Monroe,  and  told  him  that,  in  my  view 
of  it,  my  powers  were  annulled,  as  were  those,  also,  of  all 
others  connected  with  the  department ;  and  that  I  had  sus- 
pended all  further  action  until  his  pleasure  could  be  known. 
"  Go  on,  sir,"  said  this  good  man  and  pure  patriot,  "  and 
furnish  me  with  a  list  of  the  names  of  those  connected  with 
the  service,  and  I  will  place  it  at  once  before  the  Senate." 
I  did  so,  omitting  my  own.  The  Senate's  action  being  had 
upon  the  nominations,  it  resulted  in  confirming  the  entire 


MEMOIRS,  &c.,  &c.  41 

list,  with  myself  as  principal.*     The  system  was  continued, 
as  I  have  stated,  until  1822,  when  it  was  abolished. 

In  1823, 1  think  it  was,  I  write  from  memory,  Colonel 
Freeman,  then  fourth  auditor  of  the  Treasury,  died.  Mr. 
Calhoun,  being  then  Secretary  of  War,  asked  me  if  I  would 
accept  the  office  made  vacant  by  the  Colonel's  death.  I 
assented — when  leaving  me  in  his  office,  he  went  over  to 
see  Mr.  Monroe,  the  President,  and  ascertain  his  pleasure 
on  the  subject.  Mr.  Calhoun  soon  returned,  telling  me  the 
President  very  cordially  assented — but  had  scarcely  fin- 
ished the  sentence,  when  the  President's  messenger  came 
in,  saying  to  Mr.  Calhoun  that  the  President  would  be  glad 
to  see  him.  He  left  me,  requesting  me  to  remain  until  his 
return ;  and  being  gone  some  half  hour,  he  came  back,  say- 
ing, in  substance,  "  It  is  very  strange !  The  President,  I 
think,  is  singularly  scrupulous.  He  recognized  you  just 
now  with  great  pleasure  as  Colonel  Freeman's  successor ; 
and  then  sent  for  me  to  say  he  could  not  nominate  you — 
giving  as  his  reason,  that  you  had  been  active  and  useful 
in  defending  his  administration,  and  if,  with  the  knowledge 
the  public  had  of  this  fact,  he  should  appoint  you  to  office, 

*  JAMES  MONROE,  PRESIDENT  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES  of  AMERICA — 

To  all  who  shall  see  these  presents.  Greeting : 

KNOW  YE,  That  reposing  special  trust  and  confidence  in  the  integrity,  diligence 
and  discretion  of  Thomas  L.  McKenney,  of  the  District  of  Columbia,  I  have 
nominated,  and  by  and  with  the  advice  and  consent  of  the  Senate,  do  appoint  him 
Superintendent  of  Indian  Trade,  Georgetown,  District  of  Columbia,  and  do 
authorize  and  empower  him  to  execute  and  fulfil  the  duties  of  that  office  accor- 
ding to  law :  And  to  have  and  to  hold  the  said  office,  with  all  the  rights  and 
emoluments  thereunto  legally  appertaining,  unto  him,  the  said  Thomas  L. 
McKenney,  during  the  pleasure  of  the  President  of  the  United  States,  for  the 
time  being. 

In  testimony  whereof,  I  have  caused  these  letters  to  be  made  patent,  and  the 

seal  of  the  United  States  to  be  hereunto  affixed.     Given  under  my  hand 

[SEAL]  at  the  City  of  Washington,  the  twentieth  day  of  April,  in  the  year  of  our 

Lord  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  eighteen,  and  of  the  Independence 

of  the  United  States  of  America,  the  forty-second. 

[Signed,]  JAMES  MONROE. 

By  the  President.  JOHN  Q.  ADAMS,  Secretary  of  State. 

VOL.  i.  6 


42  MEMOIRS,  &c.,  &c. 

it  might  be  interpreted  as  a  compensation  to  you,  out  of 
the  public  money,  for  those  services."  He  went  on  to  say 
that  Mr.  Monroe  was  anxious  for  my  appointment  to  some 
suitable  office  in  the  government,  provided  a  situation  could 
be  found  that  would  not  devolve  upon  him  the  duty,  for  the 
reasons  stated,  of  conferring  it  upon  me. 

I  introduce  this  little  anecdote  to  show  how  sensitive 
was  this  good  man,  and  how  constantly  alive  to  his  fame ; 
and  also,  that  it  may  serve  as  a  contrast  to  the  practice 
which  was  destined  in  a  few  short  years  to  take  the  place 
of  it — of  an  exactly  opposite  character. 

Another  anecdote  illustrative  of  this  sensibility  in  Mr. 
Monroe  to  his  reputation.  It  is  known  that  his  entire 
devotion  to  the  public  service,  left  him  but  little  time  to 
attend  to  his  private  affairs.  He  became  embarrassed — 
greatly  so ;  but  was  perhaps  never  more  so,  than  during 
the  term  of  his  Presidency.  He  owned,  by  bequest,  I 
believe,  a  valuable  estate  in  Virginia — known  as  the  Albe- 
marle  estate.  It  was  his  great  object,  if  possible,  to  save 
this,  and  pass  it  down  to  his  descendants.  But  the  press- 
ing nature  of  his  finances  forced  from  him,  at  last,  a  re- 
luctant offer  of  this  property  for  sale.  Some  time  after 
the  appearance  of  the  advertisement,  he  was  waited  upon 
by  a  gentleman,  who  said  to  him — "  Sir,  I  am  just  from 
Virginia,  and  from  your  estate  in  Albemarle.  My  object 
in  going  there,  was  to  examine  it,  with  a  view  to  its  pur- 
chase. I  have  done  this,  and  have  also  learned  from  your 
agent  your  terms.  I  am  here  to  say,  that  I  am  ready, 
when  you  shall  have  made  out  the  title  deeds,  to  pay  you 
the  stipulated  price." 

Mr.  Monroe  replied,  "Colonel  O ,  I  cannot  sell 

that  estate  to  you.  My  necessities,  I  know,  are  great ; 
and  these,  alone,  prompted  me  to  advertise  that  property 

for  sale- — but "  Colonel  O interrupting  him, 

asked,  with  surprise,  "  Why  not  sell  to  me  ?" — For  no 
other  reason  than  one — and  that  is,  you  were  a  contractor 


MEMOIRS,  &c.,  &c.  43 

during  the  war ;  and  you  received  your  contracts  from  me 
as  Secretary  of  War.  You  were  faithful,  I  know,  and 
fulfilled  your  trust  like  an  honest  man,  and  made  money. 
And  now  were  I  to  sell  you  my  estate,  I  might  incur  the 
suspicion  of  having,  by  these  contracts,  purposely  placed 
it  in  your  power  to  buy  it."  All  remonstrance  on  the  part 

of  Colonel  O proved  vain.  Mr.  Monroe  held  to  his 

first  decision,  preferring  to  bear  the  weight  of  heavy  em- 
barrassments, to  the  liability  of  incurring  the  suspicion 
that  he  had  converted  his  trust,  as  Secretary  of  War,  into 
an  instrument  of  pecuniary  gain  and  personal  emolument. 

Such  instances  of  purity  in  public  life  are  refreshing. 
They  will  appear  to  the  reader  of  the  present  day,  per- 
haps, as  fable ;  and  the  patriotic  Monroe  may,  probably, 
be  considered,  when  contemplated  through  the  medium  of 
modern  times,  as  fastidious. 

I  must  crave  the  reader's  indulgence  while  I  make  one 
more  reference  to  this  tried  patriot,  and  good  man. 

During  the  late  war  with  Great  Britain,  or  the  greater 
part  of  it,  as  is  known  to  every  body,  Mr.  Monroe  was 
Secretary  of  State,  and  General  Armstrong  Secretary  of 
War ;  it  is  known,  also,  that  soon  after  the  capture  of 
Washington,  and  the  conflagration  of  its  capitol,  General 
Armstrong  was  superseded  in  the  office  of  Secretary  of 
War  by  Mr.  Monroe.  It  was  soon  whispered,  that  this 
change  had  been  produced  by  the  undermining  agency  of 
Mr.  Monroe.  Whence  the  rumor  came,  or  by  whom  it 
was  originated,  no  one  knew.  But  it  remained  a  source  of 
deep  disquiet  to  harrass  Mr.  Monroe  to  the  hour  of  his  death. 

I  can  never  forget,  when,  being  in  New  York  during 
his  last  illness,  I  called,  and  within  only  a  few  days  of  his 
death,  at  Mr.  Gouverneur's — his  son-in-law — to  see  him. 
He  was  greatly  emaciated,  and  his  cough  was  so  oppres- 
sive to  him,  as  to  make  even  the  ordinary  intercourse, 
under  such  circumstances,  painful  to  the  visiter.  I  had 
but  just  seated  myself,  when  he  began — "  Colonel  McKen- 


44  MEMOIRS,  &c.,  &c. 


>  your  call  is  welcome  to  me.  I  am  glad  to  see  you. 
I  have  something  to  say  to  you,  and  hope  you  will  allow 
me  time.  You  see  I  am  very  feeble,  and  can  say  but 
little  at  a  time,  owing  to  this  cough."  He  then  proceeded 
to  state,  in  substance,  that  it  was  among  his  most  cherish- 
ed wishes  to  leave  to  his  descendants  a  spotless  reputa- 
tion ;  that  he  had  but  little  else  left  for  them.  "  There  is 
one  thing,"  he  continued,  "  which  you  must  know  some- 
thing of.  I  want  to  talk  to  you  about  it,  and  to  get  your 
knowledge  of  the  case,  embodied  in  a  written  form.  I 
have  reason  for  believing  that  General  Armstrong  indul- 
ges the  belief  that  I  was  instrumental  in  causing  his 
removal  from  the  office  of  Secretary  of  War.  I  know  I 
had  no  agency  whatever  in  producing  that  result,  but  the 
general  opinion  being  that  he  is  writing  a  book,  he 
may,  if  he  really  believes  in  the  truth  of  this  implica- 
tion, so  state  it  ;  and  I  may  be  regarded  by  posterity  in 
that  most  unenviable  light  in  which  such  a  record  would 
place  me.  Pray  tell  me  all  you  know  about  the  circum- 
stances that  led  to  that  change  —  to  his  removal,  I  mean, 
or  separation  from  the  War  Department."  I  gave  him  the 
following  reply  :  — 

My  intercourse  was  frequent  with  General  Armstrong, 
beginning  with  the  arrival  of  the  British  forces  in  the 
Chesapeake.  It  was  made  my  duty,  from  time  to  time,  to 
report  to  him  the  arrival  of  troops,  and  their  wants,  in 
equipments,  &c.,  &c.  He  appeared  to  me  to  doubt  the 
intentions  of  the  enemy  to  invade  the  capital  ;  and  under 
the  influence  of  this  belief,  in  which  I  had  no  doubt  he 
was  sincere,  I  found  some  difficulty  in  procuring  the 
necessary  arms  and  equipments,  &c.,  for  troops  as  they 
came  in.  After  Commodore  Barney  had  been  forced  to 
blow  up  his  flotilla  in  the  Patuxet,  and  our  troops  being 
at  the  battalion  Old  Fields,  and  I  had  come  in  as  a  vidette, 
having  rode  along  the  enemy's  flanks,  for  over  a  mile,  and 
picking  up,  on  my  return  to  camp,  two  British  deserters* 


MEMOIRS,  &c.,  &c.  45 

whom  I  brought  in  with  me,  I  found  on  horseback,  in 
our  camp,  President  Madison,  General  Armstrong,  and 
two  or  three  other  persons,  to  whom,  in  presence  of  the 
Commanding  General,  I  stated  the  position  of  the  enemy, 
and  what  appeared  to  be  their  numbers,  and  gave  it  as  my 
opinion  that  they  would  be  at  our  encampment  before 
daylight  next  morning.  To  which  General  Armstrong 
replied,  "They  can  have  no  such  intention.  They  are 
foraging,  I  suppose ;  and  if  an  attack  is  meditated  by  them 
upon  any  place,  it  is  Annapolis."  The  deserters  were 
then  interrogated,  chiefly  by  President  Madison.  But 
they  knew  not  who  commanded  them ;  knew  nothing  of 
their  destination,  and  as  little  of  their  numbers.  I  then 
asked  them  to  look  at  our  force,  and  say  whether  theirs 
was  equal  to  it.  They  did  so,  and  with  a  smile,  said — 
"  We  think  it  is." 

The  President  and  party  then  rode  off  on  the  way  to 
Washington  ;  and  I  was  ordered  to  make  another  recon- 
noitre, which  I  did,  when,  as  you  know,  sir,  for  I  found 
you  on  your  roan  horse,  observing  the  enemy,  who  was 
still  advancing  upon  us,  we  continued  to  observe  them,  till 
they  halted — began  to  bivouac,  sling  their  kettles,  &c.,  &c., 
when  I  returned  to  battalion  Old  Fields,  (you  taking  the 
road  to  Bladensburg)  to  report  all  this,  and  to  say  they 
were  within  a  mile  of  us.  Whereupon  my  commanding 
officer,  General  Smith,  ordered  formed  a  line  of  battle, 
Commodore  Barney's  artillery  being  in  advance  of  our 
main  line,  and  near  the  wood  that  intervened  between  the 
two  armies.  The  line  being  formed,  I  was  ordered  to  go 
in  quest  of  General  Winder,  General  Smith  remarking, 
"  I  do  not  feel  at  liberty  to  take  the  responsibility  of  the 
fight,  if  the  commander-in-chief  of  the  forces  can  be  had 
to  give  direction  to  it."  Putting  spurs  to  my  horse,  I  lost 
not  a  moment  in  reaching  what  I  had  learned  was  the 
position  of  General  Winder.  I  met  him  about  eight 
miles  from  our  encampment,  delivered  the  message  with 


46  MEMOIRS,  &c.,  &c. 

which  I  was  charged,  when,  putting  spurs  to  his  horse,  we 
galloped  back  to  camp  together.  Riding  round  the  field, 
and  observing  the  line  of  battle,  he  remarked,  "It  is  all 
well  arranged,  but  the  manifest  object  of  the  enemy  is,  to 
attack  us  in  the  night.  We  have  not  the  material  for  a 
night  fight."  Whereupon  he  gave  orders  to  take  up  the 
line  of  march  ;  cross  the  eastern  branch  bridge,  and  occupy 
the  heights  beyond.  We  did  so.  This  was  the  evening 
of  the  23d  of  August.  The  next  day,  the  affair  of  Bladens- 
burg  occurred.  The  result  is  known  to  every  body. 

The  enemy's  next  movement  was  upon  Baltimore.  Our 
forces  were  ordered  to  march  for  the  defence  of  that  city. 
We  had  not  proceeded  far,  before  a  rumor  reached  us  that 
the  citizens  of  Washington  and  Georgetown  did  not  feel 
safe,  from  causes  of  a  domestic  nature — when  General 
Smith's  command  was  ordered  to  repair  to  the  city,  and 
encamp  on  Windmill  Hill.  Meantime,  the  British  shipping 
were  in  the  Potomac.  Alexandria  had  been  captured  and 
sacked.  Apprehensions  being  entertained  that  they  might 
ascend  the  Potomac  in  their  boats,  for  the  purpose  of  des- 
troying the  cannon  foundry,  &c.,  batteries  were  thrown  up 
on  the  shore  of  the  Potomac,  at  the  foot  of  Windmill  Hill. 
While  engaged  in  this  duty,  General  Armstrong,  of  whom 
we  had  heard  nothing  after  the  evening  of  the  interview  at 
the  Old  Fields,  rode  on  the  ground.  The  impression  had 
become  universal,  that,  as  Secretary  of  War,  he  had  ne- 
glected to  prepare  the  necessary  defences ;  and  that  to  this 
neglect,  the  capitol  had  been  desecrated,  and  the  glory  of 
our  arms  tarnished.  Indeed,  many  went  further,  openly 
and  loudly.  Charles  Carroll,  of  Bellevue,  the  moment  Gen- 
eral Armstrong  rode  upon  the  ground,  met  him,  and  de- 
nounced him,  openly  and  vehemently,  as  the  cause  of  all 
the  disasters  that  had  befallen  the  city — when,  with  one 
impulse,  the  officers  said  to  General  Smith,  "  There,  sir, 
are  our  swords ;  we  will  not  employ  them,  if  General  Arm- 
strong is  to  command  us,  in  his  capacity  of  Secretary  of 


MEMOIRS,  &c.,  &c.  47 

War ;  but  we  will  obey  the  orders  of  any  other  member 
of  the  Cabinet."  At  the  same  mpment,  the  men  at  the 
batteries  threw  down  their  spades,  avowing  a  like  resolve. 
General  Smith  called  me  to  him,  saying,  "You  see  the 
state  of  things ;  I  have  just  ordered  Major  Williams  to  re- 
port it  to  the  President.  Do  you  accompany  him.  Say 
to  the  President,  that  under  the  orders  of  any  other  mem- 
ber of  the  Cabinet,  what  can  be  done,  will  be  done."  We 
rode  off  in  haste,  and  overtook  President  Madison,  Richard 
Rush,  (I  believe,)  and  a  third  person,  on  F.  Street,  in 
Washington,  on  horseback — the  government  having  been 
again  organized  at  Washington.  The  message  delivered 
to  President  Madison,  was  in  accordance  with  the  above, 
to  the  letter — the  last  sentence— "But  under  any  other 
member  of  the  Cabinet,  the  most  cheerful  duty  will  be  ren- 
dered" The  answer  by  the  President  was, "  Say  to  Gene- 
ral Smith,  the  contingency,  (namely,  that  of  any  future 
orders  being  given  by  General  Armstrong,)  shall  not  hap- 
pen" A  short  time  only  had  elapsed  before  it  was  known 
that  General  Armstrong  had  ceased  to  be  Secretary  of 
War,  and  that  you  had  succeeded  him.  We  learned,  and 
I  remember  we  confided  in  the  source  whence  we  derived 
our  information,  that  President  Madison  suggested  to  Gen- 
eral Armstrong,  in  view  of  the  state  of  things,  as  narrated, 
whether  it  might  not  be  proper  for  him  to  suspend  his 
functions  as  war  minister,  over  the  District  of  Columbia, 
but  to  exercise  them  elsewhere.  To  which  the  general 
was  said  to  have  answered,  "  he  would  be  Secretary  of 
War  over  the  whole,  or  none."  Mr.  Madison  receiving 
this  as  an  inadmissible  alternative,  told  him  so,  when  Gen- 
eral Armstrong  ceased  to  be  Secretary  of  War.  "  This," 
said  Mr.  Monroe,  "  is  all  I  want.  It  exonerates  me  from 
the  charge  of  having  undermined  General  Armstrong,  by 
any  agency  of  mine.  So  far  as  the  facts  were  made  known 
to  me  at  the  time,  you  state  them  correctly ;  and  the  rest 
I  have  had  from  other  sources  since,  and  they  corroborate 


48  MEMOIRS,  &c.,  &c. 

what  you  say."  I  promised  to  write  out  the  narrative,  as 
he  had  requested,  and.  did  so.  Mr.  Monroe  died  a  few 
days  after  this  interview,  and  with  him,  the  demand  for  a 
forthcoming  of  the  facts.  But  I  promised  to  shield  him 
under  such  forms  as  might  be  in  my  power,  from  the 
charge ;  and  in  incorporating  the  narrative  here,  I  only 
make  good  that  promise.  The  charge  of  traitor,  which 
was  lavishly  employed  against  General  Armstrong,  I  never 
believed.  His  whole  fault  lay  in  a  total  absence  of  faith  in 
the  intention  of  the  British  to  attack  Washington.  And, 
indeed,  the  act  struck  every  military  mind  then,  as  it  does 
now,  as  one  of  the  most  unexampled  temerity.  An  incur- 
sion, such  as  was  made  into  a  country  densely  peopled, 
without  artillery  or  cavalry,  exposing  both  flank  and  rear 
to  the  capacity  of  such  a  city  as  Baltimore,  was  one  of 
that  kind  of  onsets  which  secures  success  only  by  the 
general  apathy  arising  out  of  the  belief  that  nothing  so 
desperate  would  be  attempted. 

Another  fact  or  two,  illustrative  of  President  Monroe's 
patriotism.  No  darker  period  in  the  history  of  our  coun- 
try is  known,  save  only  that  which  marked  occasional 
epochs  of  the  revolution,  than  was  that  of  the  year  1814. 
Not  only  was  the  money,  the  sinew  of  war,  in  time  of  war, 
all  gone,  but  with  it  also  had  departed  the  credit  of  the 
nation.  The  stock  of  the  government,  as  well  as  its  is- 
sues of  every  other  sort,  was  held  in  little  more  estimation 
than  would  have  been  so  much  blank  paper ;  and  yet  the 
war  was  to  be  prosecuted !  The  banks  having  advanced 
all  they  could  advance,  could  come  in  aid  of  the  govern- 
ment no  further.  There  was  not  even  money  enough  to 
buy  fuel  to  keep  the  cadets  at  West  Point  from  perishing, 
when  resort  was  had,  by  them,  to  every  old  building  and 
out-house,  to  fence  rails,  and  shrubs  and  roots,  until  Gov- 
ernor Tompkins  threw  in  five  hundred  dollars'  worth  of 
wood,  which  was  met  by  the  cadets  on  its  way  to  the 
Point,  and  borne  to  their  quarters  on  their  shoulders. 


MEMOIRS,  &c.,  &c.  49 

It  was  at  this  dismal  period  that  Mr.  Monroe  assumed 
the  duties  of  the  Department  of  War.  He  was  advised 
against  the  undertaking,  and  the  downfall  of  his  prospects 
was  predicted  by  his  friends,  who  importuned  him  not  to 
hazard  his  own  ruin,  by  engaging  in  duties  which  must  end 
in  his  overthrow.  "  It  is  when  such  dark  prospects  shroud 
the  hopes  of  the  people,  that  the  country  has  the  stronger 
claims  upon  her  sons,"  replied  the  patriot  Monroe ;  "  that 
which  you  urge  upon  me  as  a  reason  for  declining  to  con- 
tribute my  mite  towards  the  rescue,  is  conclusive  in  deter- 
mining me  to  come  to  it.  The  day  of  my  country's  ad- 
versity is  that  on  which  my  best  energies  are  more  freely 
at  her  service."  With  these  views,  and  these  feelings,  he 
assumed  the  arduous  duties  of  the  War  Department. 

There  was  mind  enough,  with  all  the  appropriate  quali- 
ties, and  zeal  enough  for  the  right  management  of  this  arm 
of  the  nation's  defence ;  and  there  was  justice  on  the  side 
of  the  republic,  and  a  consequent  just  reliance  upon  Hea- 
ven— but  there  was  no  money !  Applications  were  made 
in  all  directions ;  appeals  to  the  patriotism  of  the  people 
were  heralded  in  all  directions,  and  the  most  imploring 
calls  uttered  to  come  to  the  rescue.  But  the  arm  of  the 
nation  was  paralyzed.  There  was  no  more  money,  and 
confidence  was  gone  !  It  was  in  this  dark  crisis  that  Mr. 
Monroe  went  in  person  to  the  Bank  of  Columbia,  and 
made  an  appeal.  Government  securities  were  freely  of- 
fered, and  at  great  sacrifices,  but  in  vain  ;  when  he  looked 
the  cashier,  William  Whann,  in  the  face,  and  throwing 
into  his  countenance  all  that  was  imploring  and  impressive, 
he  said,  "  Mr.  Whann,  have  you  confidence  in  my  honor  ? 
Will  you  accept  a  pledge  of  that,  backed  by  all  my  private 
fortune,  that  this  sum,  now  so  indispensable  to  the  wants 
of  the  government,  shall  be  made  good  ?  I  pledge  them !" 
Mr.  Whann  repaired  to  the  directors'  room,  and  with  a 
heart  full  of  solicitude,  reported  all  that  had  passed,  when 
the  amount  wanted  was  placed  at  the  disposal  of  the  gov- 

VOL.   I.  7 


50  MEMOIRS,  &c.,  &c. 

eminent.  It  was  that  very  amount,  obtained  in  that  way, 
and  which  could  have  been  obtained  in  no  other  way,  that 
sustained  Jackson's  army,  and  enabled  it  to  reach  New 
Orleans ;  and  but  for  which,  or  an  indispensable  portion  of 
it,  it  could  not  have  moved  at  all.  The  world  is  entitled 
to  a  life  of  this  patriot. 

The  General  Post-Office  Department  at  Washington, 
was  for  a  long  time  in  a  state  of  great  dilapidation — I 
refer  to  the  period  which  preceded  Mr.  M'Lean's  admin- 
istration of  its  affairs.  At  the  time  to  which  I  refer,  Mr. 
M'Lean  was  Commissioner  of  the  General  Land  Office. 
Coming  down  Pennsylvania  avenue  one  day,  I  met  Mr. 
M'Lean,  with  whom  I  had  been  for  a  long  time  on  terms 
of  close  intimacy,  and  thinking  I  saw  something  in  his 
countenance  that  indicated  depression  of  spirits,  I  asked 
him  what  was  the  matter.  He  replied,  "  I  am  going  to 
leave  Washington,  and  return  to  Ohio  to  practice  law. 
My  situation  as  Commissioner  of  the  Land  Office,  being 
subordinate  to  the  Treasury  Department,  is  by  no  means 
agreeable ;  besides,  the  salary  is  not  adequate  to  the  sup- 
port of  my  family,  &c." 

I  immediately  said — Why  go  to  Ohio  for  these  reasons  ? 
A  Post-Master  General  is  about  being  appointed,  and 
surely,  if  it  is  your  pleasure  to  accept  that  office,  there 
can  be  no  difficulty  in  having  it  conferred  on  you.  "  You 
are  mistaken,"  he  replied ;  "  the  Ohio  delegation  have 
been  with  the  President  this  morning,  and  have  ascertain- 
ed that  he  has  fixed  upon  Mr.  Anderson,  of  Kentucky, 
(then  recently  returned  from  a  foreign  mission.)  There 
is  no  chance,  therefore,  of  my  being  chosen  for  that  place. 

We  parted — he  to  go  to  his  residence,  and  I  (without 
his  knowing  it)  to  the  President's.  I  found  Mr.  Monroe 
at  leisure.  As  usual,  he  was  glad  to  see  me,  and  began 
talking  about  foreign  and  other  matters  of  like  import, 
when  I  told  him,  by  his  leave,  we  would  talk  of  these  on 
some  other  occasion ;  and  if  it  were  his  pleasure,  I  would 


MEMOIRS,  &c.,  &c.  51 

refer  to  a  subject  interesting  alike  to  himself  as  President 
of  the  United  States,  and  the  country.  "  You  know, 
Colonel  McKenney,"  replied  this  good  man,  "  that  any 
subject  that  concerns  our  country  cannot  be  otherwise 
than  interesting  to  me."  Then,  sir,  I  continued,  have 
you  so  far  made  up  your  mind  as  to  the  citizen  you  are 
about  to  nominate  for  Post-Master  General,  as  to  preclude 
any  reference  to  the  subject?  "I  have,"  he  answered, 
"  thought  of  nominating  Richard  Anderson,  of  Kentucky, 
for  that  place."  Is  your  determination  final?  "  No — it  is 
not — if  I  can  hear  any  good  reason  for  changing  it." 

I  proceeded  to  state,  that  I  hoped  he  would  not  consi- 
der anything  I  might  say  as  being  unfriendly  to  Mr.  An- 
derson— for  I  was  sure  he  possessed  every  qualification  for 
the  place  except  one,  and  that  was  an  exception  over 
which  he  had  no  control,  nor  had  any  body  else.  What 
is  that  ?  inquired  the  President,  with  much  earnestness. 
His  health  is  too  feeble  for  the  toils  which  any  man  must 
endure  who  assumes  to  bring  order  out  of  that  depart- 
ment, and  so  re-organize  it,  and  administer  it,  as  to  make 
it  what  it  ought  to  be — an  instrument  of  good  to  the  peo- 
ple at  large,  for  whose  convenience  it  had  been  created. 
Mr.  Anderson,  I  proceeded  to  say,  cannot  live  a  year ; 
he  is  now  in  such  feeble  health  as  to  justify  that  opinion ; 
to  call  him  to  the  discharge  of  such  heavy  duties  as  must 
devolve  upon  him,  in  the  General  Post-Office,  would, 
should  he  attempt  their  execution,  hasten  his  transit  to  the 
grave;  if  he  should  not,  for  lack  of  health,  be  able  to 
attend  to  the  duties  of  the  station,  then  it  had  just  as  well 
remain  as  it  is. 

A  pause  for  a  moment  ensued — when  the  President 
looked  at  me,  saying — "Colonel  McKenney,  I  am  very 
glad  you  have  called" — when,  at  the  moment,  the  servant 
announced  dinner.  He  asked  me  to  accompany  him, 
after  which  we  would  resume  our  conversation.  I  decli- 


52  MEMOIRS,  &c.,  &c. 

ned,  having  company  to  dine  with  me  that  day — :when  he 
called  the  servant,  directing  him  to  tell  Mrs.  Monroe  not 
to  wait  for  him.  The  conversation  was  continued  for  an 
hour  longer,  when  I  left  him. 

The  next  day,  when  crossing  Rock  Creek  bridge,  which 
separates  Washington  from  Georgetown,  on  my  way  home, 
I  met  George  Hay,  Esq.,  son-in-law  of  Mr.  Monroe,  on 
his  roan  horse.  He  spoke,  saying,  he  was  glad  to  meet 
me — that  he  had  been  riding  about  all  the  morning,  look- 
ing after  Mr.  M'Lean,  and  had  not  found  him.  "I  will 
thank  you,  if  you  see  him,  to  say  the  object  of  my  search 
is,  at  Mr.  Monroe's  instance,  to  tell  him  that  his  name 
has  been  this  morning  sent  into  the  Senate  as  Post- 
Master  General ;  and  that  it  is  Mr.  Monroe's  wish,  that 
he  would  appoint  you  his  First  Assistant  Post-Master  Gen- 
eral." I  told  him  we  were  to  dine  that  evening  at  Foxall's, 
when  I  would  deliver  to  him  the  message. 

On  arriving  at  Foxall's,  I  found  Mr.  M'Lean  was  there, 
when,  taking  him  into  the  office,  I  announced  to  him  what 
Mr.  Hay  had  charged  me  to  make  known  to  him.  The 
President's  reference  to  myself  was  responded  to  with 
great  cordiality. 

The  nomination  was  confirmed,  of  course,  and  Mr. 
M'Lean  entered  upon  the  discharge  of  the  duties  of  his 
new  station.  Some  weeks  went  round,  when  he  referred 
to  the  relations  that  the  President  desired  I  should  stand 
to  the  office  and  to  himself — saying  he  could  not  feel  free 
to  dismiss  the  incumbent  without  cause ;  that  Mr.  Bradley 
was  competent  and  efficient,  although  he  had  found  the 
department  in  great  disorder,  &c.;  that  he  would,  on  the 
first  occasion,  should  any  delinquency  happen,  make  the 
change. 

I  told  him  I  respected  his  feelings  and  his  principles, 
and  had  not  a  doubt  he  would  find  Mr.  Bradley  all  he  could 
desire ;  and  that,  from  that  moment,  to  think  no  more  of 


MEMOIRS,   &c.,  &c.  53 

me  in  relation  to  the  appointment.  He  was  put  at  ease, 
and  we  parted  friends. 

The  same  organization  that  had  given  such  efficiency 
to  the  War  Department,  introduced  into  it,  for  the  first 
time,  by  Mr.  Calhoun,  was  adopted  by  Mr.  M'Lean  for 
the  government  of  the  Post-Office  Department.  It  proved 
no  less  operative.  The  entire  plan  consisted  in  dividing  the 
business  into  appropriate  parts,  and  assigning  a  bureau  to 
each  branch,  with  an  officer  at  the  head  of  each,  who  was 
held  responsible  for  the  right  and  prompt  management  of 
the  duties  assigned  to  him;  all  the  bureaux  connecting 
into  one  common  centre,  whose  supervisory  and  control- 
ling power  was  in  the  head.  If  ever  there  was  perfection 
carried  into  any  branch  of  the  public  service,  it  was  that 
which  Mr.  Calhoun  carried  into  the  War  Department ;  and 
it  was  the  same  admirable  organization  which  made  the 
War  Department  the  most  effective  and  most  popular 
branch  of  the  government.  And  it  was  the  same  system 
that  imparted  such  efficiency  to  the  General  Post-Office. 
And  yet  neither  would  have  produced  the  popular  results 
that  distinguished  both,  if  each  had  not  been  governed  by 
heads  that  comprehended,  and  knew  how  to  give  direction  to 
both.  The  War  Department  was  a  literal  chaos  when 
Mr.  Calhoun  took  it  in  hand ;  and  so  was  the  General  Post- 
Office,  when  Mr.  M'Lean  succeeded  to  its  management. 
Both  rose  out  of  this  chaos  into  order,  and  harmony,  and 
usefulness. 

I  have  recorded  this  anecdote,  if  it  may  be  called  one, 
for  the  purpose  of  showing  how  personal  predilections 
were  made  to  give  way,  in  Mr.  Monroe,  to  the  higher 
claims  of  public  utility.  Mr.  Anderson  was  his  choice,  but 
Mr.  M'Lean  was  the  better  qualified  man  to  advance  the 
public  interests  as  Post-Master  General,  when,  of  course, 
all  that  was  personal  gave  way,  and  the  "general  welfare" 
alone  was  consulted. 

A  time  came,  at  last,  when  Mr.  M'Lean  was  considered 


54  MEMOIRS,  &c.,  &c. 

a  stumbling  block  in  the  way  of  party.  The  "reward"  and 
"punishment"  system  was  to  take  the  place  of  qualifica- 
tion, patriotism,  and  experience.  Personal  rewards,  and 
not  the  public  good,  had  now  become  the  practice  of  the 
government.  The  friends  of  General  Jackson  were  now 
to  be  "  rewarded,"  and  those  who  were  not "  of  his  party," 
were  to  be  "punished."  But  how,  it  may  be  asked,  could 
this  system  affect  Mr.  M'Lean  ?  Was  he  not  favorable 
to  the  elevation  of  General  Jackson  ?  The  general  im- 
pression was,  that  he  favored  the  result.  Then  why  was 
he  moved  upon  ?  Because,  I  answer,  he  declined  to  make 
the  General  Post-Office  an  instrument  of  party ;  and  to 
become  an  executioner,  and  chop  off  heads  as  he  might 
be  commanded.  To  the  question  asked  of  a  member  of 
the  Hickory  club  in  Washington — What  are  you  going  to 
do  with  Mr.  M'Lean  ?  the  answer  was,  "  D — n  him,  we'll 
bench  him."  The  alternative  left  for  Mr.  M'Lean,  was  to 
quit  with  an  appointment  as  judge ;  or  quit  without  any 
thing.  Nor  would  the  office  of  judge  have  been  tendered 
to  him,  if  his  popularity  had  not  forbade  his  expulsion. 
So,  at  least,  it  was  understood  at  Washington.  The  judge- 
ship  was  not,  at  that  time,  what  best  suited  Mr.  M'Lean. 
He  had  been  long  out  of  the  practice  of  law,  as  member 
of  Congress  and  commissioner  of  the  General  Land  Office. 
But  the  same  industry,  sustained  by  moral  rectitude,  and 
strong  natural  talents,  enabled  him,  in  a  few  years,  to  oc- 
cupy a  respectable  position  on  the  bench  of  the  Supreme 
Court,  and  now  to  rank  with  its  most  able  and  honored 
members. 

Mr.  Barry  succeeded  Judge  M'Lean.  There  was  one 
act,  at  least,  of  this  functionary,  that  gave  great  notoriety 
to  his  official  character  as  Post-Master  General.  It  was 
the  issuing  of  an  order  through  the  heads  of  the  depart- 
ments, which  was  distributed  among  the  several  bureaux, 
by  order  of  the  secretaries,  directing  that  no  letters,  from 
and  after  its  date,  should  be  sealed  with  wax,  but  with 


MEMOIRS,   &c.,  &c.  55 

wafers  only ;  wax,  it  being  alleged,  adding  so  much  to  the 
weight  of  the  mails  ! 

When  I  saw  this  order,  I  took  it  with  me  to  Mr.  Secre- 
tary Eaton,  and  asked  if  it  was  intended  to  apply  to  the 
correspondence  of  the  Indian  department.  "  Why  not  ?" 
he  inquired.  Because,  I  answered,  much  of  that  corres- 
pondence has  to  traverse  the  wilderness,  and  portions  of 
it  to  be  swam  with  over  rivers,  tied  to  the  heads  of  Indians ; 
and  in  various  other  ways  to  be  exposed  to  the  weather, 
and  to  the  rough  usage  of  a  border  circulation.  "I  sup- 
pose," he  answered,  "  the  Post-Master  General  knows  his 
own  business  best ;  conform  to  the  order." 

I  was  curious  to  know  how  much  weight  the  mails  were 
relieved  of  by  this  change,  and  ascertained  it  to  amount 
to  something  less  than  five  pounds,  daily !  there  being  an  av- 
erage of  about  a  pound  and  a  quarter  of  wax  used  in  each 
of  the  four  departments — State,  Treasury,  War,  Navy, 
and  in  the  office  of  the  Attorney  General.  There  was 
much  speculation  at  the  time,  as  to  the  real  object  of  this 
order.  Nobody  believed  then,  and  nobody  will  believe 
now,  that  it  was  what  it  was  avowed  to  be. 


56  MEMOIRS,   &c.,  &c. 


CHAPTER  III. 

THE  BUREAU  OF  INDIAN  AFFAIRS.  COMMISSIONS  TO  TREAT 
WITH  THE  INDIANS.  VOYAGE  ON  THE  LAKES.  GREEN 
BAY.  BUTTE  DE  MORTS. 

Organization  of  the  Bureau  of  Indian  affairs — Dilatory  legislation — Living  on 
half  pay — Effects  of  severe  labors  upon  health — Appointed  commissioner  to 
negotiate  a  treaty  with  the  Indians  at  Fond  du  Lac — Other  commissioners  to 
the  Choctaws,  Chickasaws  and  Creeks — Arrival  at  Detroit,  and  departure  for 
Green  Bay — First  steamboat  ascent  of  the  Neebish  Rapids — Sault  de  St. 
Marie — White  fish,  and  the  fishery — Canadian  voyagers — Gale  on  the  Lake — 
Sea-sickness — Boat  aground — Detention  at  Green  Bay — Le  Petit  Butte  de 
Morts — Return  to  Mackinac — A  patient — Doctor  Monroe  and  lady — A  con- 
trast— A  romantic  wife — Return  to  Green  Bay — Hazardous  voyage — A  night 
on  shore — Another  patient — The  medicine  man  superseded — A  cure — Arrival 
at  Green  Bay — Alarm  in  the  fort — Allayed  by  the  arrival  of  General  Cass — 
Apprehensions  of  an  attack — The  big  gun  brought  up— Portage  at  the  Grand 
Kockalas — "  Short  guns" — An  experiment — Lighting  an  Indian's  pipe  with  the 
sun — Firing  at  a  target  in  the  lake — Indians  coming  in — Toils  of  the  women — 
An  exception — An  Indian's  gratitude — Passage  of  the  Rapids  of  the  Grand 
Kockalas — Talk  with  the  Winnebagoes — Anecdote  of  General  Leavenworth. 

IN  the  month  of  February,  1824,  Mr.  Calhoun  being 
Secretary  of  War,  that  gentleman  made  known  to  me  his 
wish,  which  was  also  the  President's,  to  organize  a  Bureau 
of  Indian  Affairs,  in  connexion  with  the  Department  of  War, 
and  offered  me  the  appointment  of  chief.  He  said  the  duties 
were  peculiar,  and  required  experience  in  their  performance, 
and  that  I  had  that.  I  was  engaged  in  the  incipient  stages 
of  a  departure  for  a  trip  to  Mexico,  and  thanking  him  for 
his  confidence,  told  him  I  did  not  think  I  could  accept  of 
the  proposal.  I  made  the  offer  known  to  some  of  my 
friends,  who  thought  it  better  for  me  to  forego  my  contem- 


MEMOIRS,  &c.,  &c.  57 

plated  trip  to  Mexico,  and  resume  under  this  new  form, 
my  relations  to  the  government  and  the  Indians.  At 
another  interview  with  Mr.  Calhoun,  I  learned  that  all  the 
means  at  his  disposal,  which  he  could  make  applicable  to 
my  salary,  were  sixteen  hundred  dollars.  This  I  declined 
to  accept,  upon  the  ground  that  it  was  inadequate  to  my 
support,  and  would  not  be  a  just  equivalent  for  the  servi- 
ces which  I  knew  the  office  would  require  at  my  hands. 
He  admitted  the  justness  of  both — but  added,  the  Presi- 
dent and  himself  had  talked  the  matter  over,  and  that,  if  I 
would  undertake  the  trust,  the  President  would  recom- 
mend in  his  next  message  to  Congress,  the  organiza- 
tion of  an  Indian  Department,  with  a  salary  equal  to  that 
paid  to  auditors,  expressing  a  hope  that  this  would  be 
satisfactory.  I  finally  consented,  and  on  the  llth  of 
March,  1824,  had  assigned  to  me  the  duties  of  the  Bureau 
of  Indian  Affairs.* 

*  DEPARTMENT  OF  WAR,  > 
March  llth,  1824.      $ 

SIR— To  you  are  assigned  the  duties  of  the  Bureau  of  Indian  Affairs  in  this 
department,  for  the  faithful  performance  of  which  you  will  be  responsible.  Mr. 
Hamilton  and  Mr.  Miller  are  assigned  to  you,  the  former  as  chief,  the  latter  as 
assistant  clerk.  You  will  take  charge  of  the  appropriations  for  annuities  and  of 
the  current  expenses,  and  all  warrants  on  the  same  will  be  issued  on  your  requi- 
sitions on  the  .Secretary  of  War,  taking  special  care  that  no  requisition  be  issued, 
but  in  cases  where  the  money  previously  remitted  has  been  satisfactorily  accounted 
for,  and  on  estimates  in  detail,  approved  by  you,  for  the  sum  required.  You  will 
receive  and  examine  the  accounts  and  vouchers  for  the  expenditure  thereof,  and 
will  pass  them  over  to  the  proper  auditor's  office  for  settlement,  after  examination 
and  approval  by  you ;  submitting  such  items  for  the  sanction  of  this  department 
as  may  require  its  approval.  The  administration  of  the  fund  for  the  civilization 
of  the  Indians  is  also  committed  to  your  charge,  under  the  regulations  established 
by  the  department.  You  are  also  charged  with  the  examination  of  the  claims 
arising  out  of  the  laws  regulating  the  intercourse  with  Indian  tribes,  and  will, 
after  examining  and  briefing  the  same,  report  them  to  this  department,  endorsing 
a  recommendation  for  their  allowance  or  disallowance.  The  ordinary  correspon- 
dence with  the  superintendents,  the  agents,  and  sub-agents,  will  pass  through 
vour  bureau. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be  your  obedient  servant, 

[Signed]  JOHN  C.  CALHOUN. 

THOMAS  L.  MCKENNET,  Esq. 
VOL.  i.  8 


58  MEMOIRS,   &c.,  &c. 

I  found  the  business  of  our  Indian  relations  greatly  in 
arrears.  It  required  the  most  laborious  efforts,  for  nearly 
the  whole  of  the  first  year,  to  bring  it  up.  The  President 
was  faithful  to  his  promise,  and  recommended  the  passage 
of  an  act  for  the  organization  of  a  department.  At  the 
request  of  the  Chairman  of  the  Committee  of  Indian  Af- 
fairs, I  prepared  a  bill,  submitted  it  to  the  Secretary  of 
War,  who  wrote  on  it,  in  pencil,  "  All  right — alter  not  a 
word."  I  left  in  it  a  blank  for  the  committee  to  fill  with 
the  sum  they  might  agree  upon  for  the  salary.  It  was 
filled  with  the  sum  of  three  thousand  dollars.  The  bill 
was  reported  to  the  House,  and  passed  to  a  second  reading, 
and  there  it  stopped,  not  from  objection  to  it,  or  its  pro- 
visions, but  because  it  was  taken  precedence  of,  by  other 
matters,  deemed  by  Congress  to  be  of  more  importance. 
This  was  its  fate  for  several  successive  sessions ;  I  being 
left,  meantime,  to  get  along  as  well  as  I  might  on  the 
half  pay,  which  was  at  the  disposal  of  the  department. 
Afterwards,  Governor  Cass  and  General  Clark,  by  direc- 
tion of  the  executive,  drew  regulations  for  the  govern- 
ment, in  detail,  of  the  Indian  department,  which,  however, 
contained  little  else  than  an  embodiment  of  the  system 
upon  which  the  bureau  had  been  previously  governed. 
Still  the  salary  was  not  reached,  nor  was  it  appropriated 
till  my  successor  was  in  place,  and  ready  to  receive  it. 
To  him,  and  to  his  successors,  it  has  been  paid  to  this  day. 

I  addressed  a  letter  to  Mr.  Calhoun,  after  he  had  left 
the  department,  calling  his  attention  to  my  unrequited 
labors,  and  received  from  him  the  following  answer  : — 
"  No  one  better  knows  than  myself,  how  inadequate  your 
salary  is,  as  a  compensation  for  the  varied  and  important 
duties  of  your  office.  There  is  no  branch  of  business  in 
the  War  Department,  which  requires  more  minute  and 
laborious  attention,  or  to  which  greater  responsibility  is 
attached.  I  would  rejoice  to  see  your  compensation  placed 
on  a  more  respectable  footing."  Nothing,  however,  has 


T 


MEMOIRS,  &c.,  &c.  59 

ever  been  done  to  reimburse  me,  and  I  remain  to  this 
day  without  having  received  a  copper  towards  the  differ- 
ence between  what  I  did  receive,  and  that  which,  by  every 
rule  of  equity  and  justice,  I  was,  and  yet  am  entitled  to 
receive. 

Such  were  my  labors,  so  constant  and  oppressive,  and 
so  weighty  the  responsibilities  which  devolved  on  me,  as 
to  have  very  nearly  cost  me  my  life.  My  health  gave  way 
under  the  pressure,  and  but  for  the  confidence  of  President 
Adams  and  Mr.  Barbour — the  latter,  at  the  period  to  which 
I  am  referring,  being  Secretary  of  War — in  referring  to 
me  the  duties  of  joint  commissioner  with  Governor  Cass 
to  negotiate  a  treaty  with  the  Indians  at  La  Fond  du  Lac, 
Superior,  and  again  with  other  tribes  at  Green  Bay,  the 
year  following,  I  should,  in  all  probability,  have  died  at  my 
post.  Twelve  senators  and  representatives  in  Congress 
united  in  a  request  to  President  Adams  to  join  me  in  those 
commissions.  The  late  President  Harrison,  being  at  that 
time  senator,  was  one  of  them.  (See  Appendix,  D.) 

It  was  not,  perhaps,  the  state  of  my  health  that  opera- 
ted to  produce  this  request,  so  much  as  a  belief  which 
they  expressed,  in  the  benefit  tha!%%uU  result  to  the  pub- 
lic service,  from  the  information  which jhto^ight  obtain  in  a 
personal  intercourse  with  the  Indians,  ana1  which  would 
give  me  greater  power  over  the  varied  and  complex  duties 
of  my  office,  when  I  should  return  to  resume  them. 

The  first  year's  travels  to  Lake  Superior  restored  me 
my  health ;  though  it  was  not  until  some  time  after  the 
expedition  had  entered  that  lake,  that  the  officers  in  com- 
mand of  the  military  escort  gave  over  their  more  than  half- 
made  preparations  to  give  me  a  magnificent  burial  on  its 
shore.  Of  this  kindness,  however,  I  knew  nothing  at  the 
time,  but  was  often  reminded  of  it  after  my  health  was  re- 
stored. I  threw  together  in  a  volume  of  some  five  hundred 
pages,  under  the  title  of  "  Tour  to  the  Lakes"  the  incidents 


60  MEMOIRS,  &c.,  &c. 

of  that  expedition,  which  I  dedicated  to  my  friend  and  pa- 
tron, the  Hon.  JAMES  BARBOUR,  Secretary  of  War.  Be- 
sides the  duties  enjoined  on  me,  jointly  with  Governor 
Cass,  in  that  year,  it  was  made  my  duty,  by  special  com- 
missions, after  concluding  our  labors  at  Green  Bay,  to  pro- 
ceed in  my  individual  capacity,  to  the  performance  of 
others,  as  disclosed  in  the  following  commissions : — 

DEPARTMENT  OF  WAR,      > 
March  28,  1827.          $ 
To  COLONEL  THOMAS  L.  MCKENNEY  : — 

SIR — With  the  view  of  obtaining  local  and  other  information  of  the  country 
between  the  lakes  and  the  Mississippi,  the  condition  and  disposition  of  the  Indian 
tribes  which  are  scattered  over  it,  and  especially  to  ascertain  the  disposition  of 
the  tribes  within  the  States,  the  Chickasaws  and  Choctaws,  and,  if  practicable, 
the  Cherokees,  on  the  subject  of  emigration  to  lands  west  of  the  Mississippi,  the 
President  directs  that  after  the  council  is  closed  at  Green  Bay,  and  the  business 
entrusted  to  you  and  Governor  Cass  settled,  that  you  will  cross  the  country  from 
Green  Bay  in  such  direction  as  you  may  esteem  it  to  be  the  most  eligible,  either 
by  way  of  Fox  and  Ouisconsin  rivers,  or  by  descending  Lake  Michigan  to  Chicago, 
down  the  Illinois  to  the  Mississippi,  and  thence  to  the  States,  noting  whatever 
incidents  you  may  esteem  valuable,  and  that  in  any  manner  may  be  connected 
with  our  Indian  relations,  and  that  may  tend  to  enlighten  the  department  in  mat- 
ters pertaining  to  their  judicious  disposition  and  application. 

To  your  discretion  is  referred  the  best  mode  of  approaching  the  Choctaws  and 
Chickasaws,  and,  if  you  can  reach  them,  the  Cherokees,  on  the  subject  of  emi- 
gration ;  but  any  convention  ypwmay  make  with  them,  will  be  understood  to  be 
only  conditional,  and  subject  to  the  approval  of  the  President,  to  be  afterwards 
confirmed  by  the  more' 'formal  stipulations  of  treaties.  The  extent  to  which  you 
are  to  go  in  these  visits  and  councils,  will  reach  no  farther  than  an  ascertainment 
of  the  disposition  and  will  of  the  Indians,  and  the  nature  and  extent  of  the  terms 
on  which  they  will  consent  to  emigrate ;  which  may  be  made  binding  on  them,  on 
being  approved  by  the  President,  and  thrown  afterwards  into  treaty  form. 

You  will  also  visit  agencies,  and  such  Indian  schools  as  may  be  within  your 
reach,  and  inform  yourself  of  their  condition  and  prospects ;  and  generally  collect 
such  information  as  may  be  necessary  to  a  prompt  and  efficient  discharge  of  the 
duties  arising  out  of  our  Indian  relations. 

Your  compensation  will  be  fixed  on  your  return,  and  made  equivalent  to  the 
extent  and  value  of  your  services.  Your  expenses,  (together  with  any  reasonable 
amount,  not  exceeding  one  thousand  dollars,  which  you  may  find  it  necessary  to 
expend  among  the  Indians  for  the  promotion  of  the  objects  in  view,)  will  be  borne, 
and  a  requisition  will  issue  on  your  estimate  of  what  they  mav  probably  be,  for 
which  you  will,  as  is  usual,  account  on  your  return. 

I  have  the  honor,  &c., 

JAMES  BARBOUB. 


MEMOIRS,  &c.,  &c.  61 

DEPARTMENT  OF  WAR,      ) 
April  10th,  1827.          $ 
To  COLONEL  THOMAS  L.  MCKENNEY  : — 

SIR — Referring  to  my  instructions  to  you  of  28th  March,  I  now  add  the  par- 
ticular desire  of  the  President,  that  if  it  be  practicable  for  you  to  return  by  the 
way  of  the  Creek  country,  that  you  do  so,  and  that  you  employ  all  proper  means 
in  your  discretion,  to  procure  of  the  Creeks  a  cession  of  the  remaining  strip  of 
land  in  Georgia ;  and  for  this  object  the  President  hereby  empowers  you  to  act, 
either  separately  or  jointly,  as  you  may  esteem  it  best,  with  the  agent,  Colonel 
Crowell,  who  will  be,  meanwhile,  authorized  if  possible  to  accomplish  this  object. 
I  have  the  honor  to  be,  very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

JAMES  BARBOUR. 

I  left  Washington  in  due  season  for  Detroit,  there  to 
join  Governor  Cass,  having  in  my  suite  a  secretary,  physi- 
cian, my  son,  and  a  servant ;  where,  on  my  arrival,  I  found 
all  the  preparations  made,  and  a  day  appointed  for  our  de- 
parture for  Green  Bay.  Our  conveyance  was  a  steamboat, 
in  which,  besides  a  goodly  number  of  passengers  of  both 
sexes,  were  Major  General  Scott  and  suite.  General  Scott 
was  to  make  his  first  visit  to  the  post  at  the  Sault  de  St. 
Marie.  It  was  proposed,  on  our  way  to  Mackinac,  and 
agreed  to,  to  allow  the  captain  some  additional  pay  to  try 
the  ascent  of  the  St.  Marie,  and  test  the  power  of  his  boat 
in  a  contest  with  the  Neebish  rapids.  The  bargain  was 
concluded,  and  the  experiment  was  decided  to  be  made; 
when,  leaving  Mackinac,  we  were  soon  in  the  Detour,  and 
very  soon  after  amidst  the  whirl  and  agony  of  the  rapids. 
The  power  of  the  descending  water,  and  its  whirlpool-like 
surges,  would  often  bring  the  boat  to  a  stand,  then  force 
her  first  to  one  side  and  then  to  the  other,  the  rocks,  mean- 
time, as  seen  through  the  transparent  water,  being  often 
near  aboard,  when  she  would  again  shoot  ahead,  and  again 
become  stationary,  like  a  thing  taking  repose,  or  gathering 
strength  for  another  onset,  and  a  new  triumph.  At  last 
we  reached  the  more  level  and  tranquil  surface,  when  com- 
ing suddenly  in  view  of  the  village  and  its  population,  of 
the  fort  and  garrison,  and  the  Indians,  an  expression  of 
universal  astonishment  marked  every  face,  at  this  unlooked- 
for  appearance  of  the  first  steamboat  that  had  ever  reached 


62  MEMOIRS,  &c.,  &c. 

that  place.  The  inhabitants  looked  spell-bound,  whilst  the 
Indians  eyed  the  boat  in  silence,  and  listened,  half  horror- 
struck,  to  the  whizz  and  deafening  roar  of  the  steam,  as  it 
escaped  from  the  vent.  In  every  face  was  depicted  a  mute, 
but  bewildered  surprise,  such  as  one  might  be  supposed  to 
feel  if  brought  suddenly  in  contact  with  his  Satanic  Majes- 
ty, invested  with  all  the  trappings,  and  set  off  with  all  the 
appendages  with  which  our  youthful  fancies  were  wont  to 
invest  that  personage. 

Having  been  at  the  Sault  the  year  before,  when  on  my 
way  to  La  Fond  du  Lac,  Superior,  I  had  made  acquain- 
tances. Among  these  was  the  proprietor  of  the  only  pub- 
lic house  in  the  village  of  which  these  remote  regions 
could  then  boast,  where  I  well  remember  the  white  fish 
was  cooked  in  perfection.  My  first  move  was  to  this  long, 
low,  log  house,  where  I  forthwith  requested  a  dinner  to  be 
prepared  for  our  company — white  fish,  that  were  then 
swimming  in  the  rapids,  to  form  part  of  it,  and  the  princi- 
pal dish,  of  course.  In  a  moment  the  order  was  passed, 
and  in  another  moment  the  Indians,  some  of  them  boys, 
were  out  among  the  rapids,  balancing  their  little  bark  ca- 
noes, with  a  foot  upon  each  gunwale,  and  in  their  hands  a 
scoop  net,  with  its  handle  some  ten  feet  long,  reaching 
down  into  the  whirling  and  foaming  rapids,  taking  in  the 
white  fish  as  fast  as  they  could  be  thrown  into  the  canoe. 
Our  repast  was  a  sumptuous  one. 

Taking  a  bark  canoe  and  some  voyagers,  I  gratified 
part  of  our  company  with  a  view  of  Lake  Superior. 
These  dexterous  Canadians  knowing  the  party,  with  an 
exception  or  two,  to  be  unaccustomed  to  the  canoe,  and  to 
its  movements  among  the  rapids,  on  our  return,  ran  the 
frail  vessel  along  the  very  edge  of  the  curve,  over  which 
the  water  tumbles  in  its  first  plunge,  but  with  a  skill  which 
only  the  voyagers  can  exert,  enlivening  the  scene,  mean- 
time, with  their  boat  songs,  and  a  jabbering  of  their  Ca- 
nadian French. 


MEMOIRS,  &c.,  &c.  63 

Returned  to  Mackinac,  and  thence  on  to  Green  Bay. 
When  off  Lake  Michigan,  a  terrible  gale  arose.  Its  seve- 
rity and  duration  were  unusual,  even  in  this  region  of 
storms.  Such  was  its  violence,  that  both  anchors  proved 
insufficient  to  keep  the  boat  to  her  moorings,  and  being 
driven  ashore ;  when  the  steam  was  let  on,  and  the  wheels 
kept  in  motion,  which  alone,  it  was  thought,  saved  us  from 
being  stranded.  So  billowy  were  the  waters,  as  when  the 
boat  would  wear  round,  and  expose  a  quarter  to  the  surge, 
it  would  strike  her  with  such  force  as  to  roll  her  well 
nigh  over,  the  bell,  meantime,  keeping  up  a  continual  toll, 
as  if  noting  the  time  that  was  hastening  to  engulf  us  all. 

A  fine  opportunity  occurred  during  the  storm,  for  testing 
my  skill  in  the  management  of  that  most  prostrating  of  all 
afflictions,  sea-sickness.  We  had  three  physicians  on  board, 
but  they  were  all  as  dead  men.  Nearly  all  the  passengers, 
and  several  of  the  hands  and  attendants,  were  paying  the 
customary  tribute  to  the  gale ;  myself  and  son,  and  faithful 
servant  Ben,  being  excused  from  the  contribution.  Even 
the  cabin  girl,  when  making  her  way  to  the  companion 
door,  gave  signs  that  her  time  also  had  come,  for  she  had 
scarcely  delivered  to  me  a  message  from  my  cousin,  Mrs. 
Doctor  T-b-r-k,  of  New  York,  which  she  did  by  gasping 
out, "  You're  wanted  down  here" — when  she  fell  backwards 
flat  on  the  cabin  floor.  Going  down,  I  found  some  seven 
or  more  of  the  lady  passengers  also  on  the  floor,  having 
been  tumbled  from  their  berths,  whilst  others  who  had  been 
able  to  keep  their  places,  were  not  the  less  victims  to  the 
overwhelming  nausea.  Among  the  latter  was  my  cousin, 
whose  husband  was  among  the  helpless  ones  in  the  gen- 
tlemen's cabin.  Those  who  were  upon  the  floor,  had 
arrived  at  that  condition  of  helplessness,  as  to  have  no 
power  over  their  movements — not  a  muscle  seconded  their 
will  to  take  hold  and  steady  themselves.  When  the  boat 
would  lurch,  they  would  roll  across  the  cabin,  and  fetch 
up  in  one  confused  mass  on  the  opposite  side,  to  remain 


64  MEMOIRS,  &c.,  &c. 

there  till  another  lurch  from  the  other  side  would  send 
them  all  across  the  floor  in  an  opposite  direction. 

I  made  signal  to  Ben,  who  with  great  effort  reached  me. 
I  directed  him  to  cut  open  a  bale  of  blankets— separate, 
and  pass  them  to  me  as  quick  as  possible.  It  was  done ; 
when,  holding  a  blanket  in  one  hand,  and  with  the  other 
supporting  myself,  as  the  mass  began  to  separate  to  find 
its  lodgment  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  cabin  floor,  I 
would,  as  the  openings  between  the  bodies  were  made, 
thrust  in  a  blanket.  I  continued  the  process  till  I  had  the 
sufferers  all  wedged  in,  so  as  at  last  they  became  sta- 
tionary. Fresh  air  was  indispensable,  to  obtain  which,  I 
hoisted  one  of  the  stern  windows.  A  few  moments  after, 
a  sea  broke  in,  bringing  with  it  enough  of  terror  to  arouse 
a  few  of  the  prostrate  party  to  some  extra  efforts — and 
these  were  accompanied  by  cries  of  "  Oh,  we're  lost  /" 

I  next  caused  to  be  procured  from  my  medicine  chest, 
a  bottle  of  laudanum,  with  another  of  brandy.  I  poured 
portions  of  each  into  a  tea-pot — all  guess-work,  for 
such  was  the  rolling  and  pitching  of  the  boat,  as  to  make 
it  difficult  to  hold  on,  much  more  so  to  count  drops,  or 
measure  proportions — and  so,  from  various  positions  which 
I  sought  and  obtained,  to  hold  on  to  something  with  one 
hand,  I  employed  the  other  in  divers  attempts,  (in  not 
over  one  in  a  dozen  did  I  succeed,)  to  get  the  spout  of  the 
tea-pot  into  the  mouths  of  the  sufferers,  always  involving 
the  hazard  to  pour  in  more  than  might  be  useful.  In  less 
than  thirty  minutes  after  I  had  gone  the  rounds,  all  my 
patients,  except  one,  who  was  in  a  berth,  were  as  tranquil 
and  composed,  and  free  from  sickness,  as  the  circumstan- 
ces would  permit.  I  had  my  fears  for  the  safety  of  that 
one — an  interesting  young  lady,  a  Miss  S-b-n-s,  from  the 
South,  who,  in  company  with  her  aunt,  was  on  her  way 
to  visit  her  sister,  wife  of  Captain  B.,  of  the  army,  sta- 
tioned at  Green  Bay.  Spasms  had  blackened  her,  and 
changed  into  this  dismal  hue,  the  hitherto  rose  and  lily 


MEMOIRS,  &c.,  &c.  65 

tinge  of  her  cheeks — telling  in  language  not  to  be  mista- 
ken of  suspended  circulation,  and  threatening  to  stop  it 
forever.  I  had  no  one  to  assist  me,  and  my  only  alterna- 
tive was  to  tear  (cut  I  could  not,  without  danger,  from  the 
motion  of  the  boat,  of  the  knife's  taking  a  direction  other 
than  the  one  intended)  her  corsets  loose,  which,  being 
done,  I  applied  bread  saturated  with  laudanum  and  brandy 
to  the  pit  of  her  stomach.  A  warm  bath,  my  next  re- 
source had  this  failed,  could  not  of  course  be  commanded. 
In  a  few  minutes  after  the  application  of  the  laudanum 
and  brandy  had  been  made,  and  about  a  spoonful  taken, 
the  face  resumed  much  of  its  natural  color,  and  the  suf- 
ferer gave  signs  of  doing  well. 

The  storm  having  in  part  subsided,  the  anchors  were 
weighed,  and  we  were  heading  it  on  to  Green  Bay.  When 
within  some  five  miles  of  the  village,  and  about  two  from 
the  fort,  the  boat  grounded ;  and  such  was  the  rapid  re- 
cession of  the  waters  which  the  gale  had  blown  into  the 
bay  and  river,  that  before  the  appropriate  means  could  be 
put  in  operation  for  heading  her  off,  her  paddles  were  out 
of  water.  We  were  conveyed  to  the  village  at  Green 
Bay  in  boats. 

I  thought  I  saw  in  this  revulsion  of  the  waters,  the  cause 
of  the  apparent  tides  that  rise  and  fall,  with  an  almost  pe- 
riodical precision,  in  those  lakes.  The  winds  keep  the 
waters  in  constant  agitation,  and  force  them  in  the  direc- 
tion in  which  they  blow.  These  falling  or  blowing  from 
an  opposite  or  any  other  direction,  the  waters  fall  back, 
seeking  their  level;  and  to  this  constant  action,  thus  caus- 
ed, I  attribute  the  ocean-like  ebbing  and  flowing  of  the 
waters  of  these  lakes. 

Every  body,  except  the  captain,  was  delighted  at  the 
stationary,  and  for  some  time  at  least,  permanent  situation 
of  the  boat.  Our  company  had  been  so  very  agreeable  as 
to  make  it  quite  hard  to  separate.  This  grounding  of  the 
boat  gave  us  the  opportunity  to  remain  together  some 

VOL.   I.  9 


66  MEMOIRS,  &c.,  &c. 

days  at  Green  Bay ;  and  but  for  it,  all,  except  Governor 
Cass  and  myself,  and  suite,  and  a  few  who  lived  at  the 
bay,  would  have  the  next  day  returned  in  the  boat  to 
Detroit. 

The  ground  which  had  been  selected  upon  which  to 
hold  our  treaty,  was  some  thirty-seven  miles  above  Fort 
Howard,  on  the  Fox  river,  and  just  below  the  opening 
into  the  Lake  Winnebago.  There  could  have  been  no 
more  beautiful  position  found  in  all  that  region.  The  rise 
to  it  from  the  river  is  gradual,  and  reaches  to  some  thirty 
feet.  The  level,  when  reached,  widens  out  into  the  form 
of  an  irregular  circle  of  some  three  hundred  yards  in  cir- 
cumference, and  in  nearly  the  centre  is  a  mound  called  by 
the  French,  La  Petit  Butte  de  Morts  ;  the  mound  being 
conical  in  formj  about  a  hundred  feet  in  circumference, 
and  some  twelve  feet  high.  To  this  spot,  all  our  supplies 
in  provisions  for  the  treaty,  and  presents  for  the  Indians, 
s&c.,  were  forwarded ;  and  leaving  our  party  to  put  up  the 
necessary  log  houses  in  which  to  store  the  property,  and 
to  give  time  for  the  Indians  to  come  in,  Governor  Cass 
and  myself  agreed  to  separate — he  to  go  to  the  Mississippi, 
and  I  to  Lake  Superior ;  the  chief  object  being  to  send 
runners  among  the  Indians  to  secure  a  full  attendance  from 
as  many  bands  as  could  be  reached.  The  governor  took 
to  his  bark  canoe,  and  I,  as  far  as  Mackinac,  to  the  steam- 
boat. 

Arriving  at  Mackinac,  where  I  parted  from  friends  in 
whose  society  I  had  enjoyed  so  much  pleasure,  I  took 
with  my  company  a  barge  conveyance  to  Drummond's 
Island  and  the  Sault.  The  waters  of  Huron  becoming  a 
little  billowy,  another  scene  of  sea-sickness  was  witness- 
ed, which  made  a  longer  pause  at  Drummond's  Island,  at 
that  time  a  British  post,  than  was  contemplated  necessary. 
I  was,  as  before,  the  ministering  physician.  Arriving  at 
the  quarters  of  Captain  Anderson,  it  was  thought  my  fair 
patient  could  not  survive.  Indeed,  so  thought  Doctor 


MEMOIRS,   &c.,  &c.  57 

Munroe,  of  the  British  army,  who,  with  his  accomplished 
lady,  had  just  arrived,  to  exchange  the  polish  of  courts  of 
Europe  for  a  bark  lodge  on  Drummond's  Island,  to  which 
barren  and  desolate  station  he  had  been  appointed  sur- 
geon. About  the  doctor's  neck,  suspended  by  a  riband, 
hung  a  medal,  the  badge  of  distinction  which  he  had  won 
at  the  battle  of  Waterloo. 

The  previous  remedies,  with  the  addition  of  a  warm 
bath,  and  the  kind  offices  of  Mrs.  Anderson  and  Mrs.  Mun- 
roe, succeeded  in  restoring  the  patient  to  health,  and 
enough  of  strength  to  enable  her  the  next  morning  to 
breakfast  with  Mrs.  Munroe  in  her  bark-thatched  cottage. 
Rough  as  was  this  little  lodge  in  its  exterior — for  its  sides, 
as  well  as  its  roof,  were  of  bark — there  was  an  enviable 
comfort  within.  I  could  not  refrain  from  questioning  the 
accomplished  Mrs.  Munroe  upon  the  state  of  her  feelings, 
when,  for  the  first  time,  and  only  a  few  days  before,  her 
eyes,  were  met  by  the  rocky,  barren,  exposed,  and  inhos- 
pitable exterior  of  that  island — for  so  little  of  space  was 
there  upon  the  rock-wedged  surface  for  the  formation  of 
earthy  matter,  and  so  little  of  vegetation  of  any  sort  out 
of  which  to  form  it,  that,  to  have  a  garden  at  all,  Captain 
Anderson  had  been  compelled  to  employ  his  command  in 
scratching  about  in  crevices  for  earth,  and  conveying  it  in 
hand-barrows  to  a  space  which  he  had  marked  out  for  a 
garden.  To  my  questions,  this  charming  lady  gave  the 
most  winning  answers.  "  Oh,"  said  she, "  I  am  just  where 
my  fancy  has  often  been  before  me.  I  love  everything 
that  is  wild  in  nature.  London  has  no  charms  for  me, 
compared  with  this  island ;  and  its  palaces,  smothered  in 
smoke,  fade  away,  to  give  place  to  these  Indian  wigwams, 
and  this  fresh  air,  and  this  delicious  water,  and  this  sweet 
and  cozy  little  cabin."  Happy  man,  I  could  not  help  ejac- 
ulating, to  be  blessed  with  such  a  wife  !  I  saw,  in  all  her 
revelling  amidst  these  new  scenes,  that  there  was  a  charm 
even  more  endearing  than  all  beside,  and  that  was  derived 


68  MEMOIRS,   &c.,  &c. 

from  the  possession  and  presence  of  the  man  she  loved; 
and  how  the  presence  and  sight  of  such  happy  content- 
ment must  have  balanced  the  loss  of  that  world  of  fashion, 
of  taste,  and  luxury,  which  the  accomplished  Doctor  Mun- 
roe  had  left. 

Arriving  at  the  Sault,  runners  were  put  in  motion,  as 
they  had  been  elsewhere,  to  invite  the  Indians  to  attend 
the  treaty.  This  being  done,  I  took  a  bark  canoe,  which, 
in  honor  of  my  fair  cousin,  I  called  "  THE  MARY  or  THE 
LAKES,"  and  with  eight  Canadian  voyagers,  wended  my 
way  back  to  Mackinac  and  Green  Bay — the  entire  distance 
being  some  two  hundred  and  fifty  miles.  At  Mackinac  I 
took  in  supplies,  which,  together  with  Ben  and  myself,  and 
eight  voyagers,  left  out  of  water,  of  this  frail  vessel,  not 
over  four  inches,  except  at  the  bow  and  stern,  of  her  beau- 
tiful form.  All  being  ready,  and  just  as  I  was  going  to 
embark,  a  storm  arose.  The  good  folks  at  Mackinac 
urged  me  not  to  attempt  to  put  out.  But  my  time  had 
nearly  expired,  and  there  was  barely  enough  left  for  me 
punctually  to  meet  Governor  Cass  on  his  return  to  the 
bay  ;  and  so  I  gave  orders  to  embark.  The  kind  friends 
with  whom  we  had  parted  at  the  landing,  or  many  of  them, 
ran  down  to  the  point  of  the  island,  to  see,  as  some  of 
them  afterwards  told  me  they  were  sure  they  should,  the 
canoe  and  all  in  it  go  to  the  bottom.  I  had  no  such  fears, 
for  I  had  the  year  before  been  billow  and  storm-tossed  on 
Lake  Superior,  and  had  reached  the  conclusion  that  if 
there  is  anything  specially  secure  in  a  gale  of  wind,  when 
one  happens  not  to  be  too  far  from  shore,  and  not  exposed 
to  a  rock-bound  coast,  it  is  in  a  bark  canoe,  thirty-six  feet 
long,  and  five  feet  wide  across  the  middle — and  these  were 
the  dimensions  of  mine — managed  by  eight  experienced 
Canadian  voyagers. 

Night  coming  on,  I  ordered  a  landing  made  on  the  shel- 
tered side  of  an  island.  The  canoe  was  soon  in  about 
two  feet  of  water,  her  side  to  the  shore,  and  a  voyager 


MEMOIRS,  &c.,  &c.  69 

out,  steadying  her  stern  and  bow,  whilst  myself  and  Ben 
were  borne  to  the  beach  on  the  backs  of  two  others.  The 
provisions  and  baggage  being  conveyed  on  shore,  the  ca- 
noe was  lifted  out  of  the  water,  and  conveyed  there  also — 
where  it  was  placed  bottom  upwards,  furnishing  beneath  a 
shelter  for  these  hardy  men,  who  were  soon  under  it, 
munching  their  raw  pork  and  hard  biscuit.  My  tent  hav- 
ing been  meanwhile  put  up,  all  was  made  right  for  the 
night.  Presently  I  heard  the  barking  of  a  dog.  Stepping 
from  my  tent,  and  looking  in  the  direction  from  which  it 
came,  I  saw  in  the  distance,  amidst  the  thick  foliage,  a 
light.  Advancing  a  little,  I  heard  an  Indian's  drum.  I 
knew  from  the  beat  upon  it,  what  it  betokened.  Some- 
body was  ill,  and  the  medicine-man  was  engaged  with  his 
incantations,  and  drum,  and  mummeries,  to  drive  out  the 
bad  spirit.  Taking  along  with  me  Ben  and  an  interpreter, 
I  wended  my  way  through  the  dark  and  tangled  under- 
growth, till  presently  a  full  glare  from  a  flambeau  burst 
upon  me,  and  the  beat  of  the  drum  fell  more  distinctly  on 
my  ear,  confirming  my  first  impressions.  The  dogs  had 
now  all  come  out  in  full  cry,  and  a  tall  Indian  revealed 
himself  by  the  torch-light  at  the  door  of  the  wigwam,  ac- 
coutred in  the  habiliments  of  his  tribe,  with  a  rifle  in  his 
hand.  He  hailed  us,  and  received  from  the  interpreter,  in 
his  own  language,  the  answer  that  we  were  friends,  and  on 
our  way  to  the  great  treaty  which  was  soon  to  be  held  at 
the  foot  of  Winnebago  Lake.  The  dogs  were  called  in, 
when  we  met  and  shook  hands.  The  pipe  was  lighted, 
handed  round,  and  smoked. 

Upon  a  mat  much  worn,  with  nothing  but  the  ground 
beneath  it,  lay  a  fine-looking  Indian  woman.  On  one  side, 
near  her  head,  sat,  in  pensive  mood,  a  middle-aged  man, 
and  beside  him  a  young  man.  On  the  other  side  sat  two 
girls,  and  at  the  head  stood  the  medicine-man,  thumping 
his  drum,  and  performing  those  mystic  rites  that  belong  to 
his  craft.  My  sympathies  grew  strong  for  the  sufferer,  till 


70  MEMOIRS,  &c.,  &c. 

finding  it  impossible  to  remain  longer  a  spectator  of  such 
a  scene,  and  not  employ  what  skill  I  had,  and  my  means, 
to  save  life,  I  determined  to  interfere.  I  knew  there  was 
hazard  in  the  attempt — for  I  should  have  to  encounter, 
first,  the  ire  of  the  medicine-man,  it  being  a  no  greater 
calamity  to  deprive  such  a  one  of  his  "  occupation,"  than  it 
was  in  the  days  of  Shakspeare  for  Othello  to  lose  his  ; 
next,  should  the  patient  die  on  my  hands,  there  might  be 
an  account  to  settle  with  the  husband,  who  would  have  no 
difficulty  in  arriving  at  the  conclusion  that  she  had  been 
killed  by  me.  But  my  mind  was  made  up ;  so  I  said  to 
my  interpreter — Tell  this  man,  (the  woman's  husband,) 
if  he  will  stop  that  drum,  and  allow  me  to  medicine  his 
squaw,  I  think  I  can  make  her  well.  These  words  were 
scarcely  out  of  the  interpreter's  mouth,  when  the  medicine- 
man threw  upon  me  from  his  black  eyes,  which  were  shi- 
ning amidst  the  torch-light  of  the  wigwam,  and  exceeding  it 
in  brightness,  a  look  of  fierceness,  which  nothing  but  my 
previous  intercourse  with  the  Indians  could  have  enabled 
me,  without  great  apprehension,  to  endure. 

The  husband  hesitated — then  looking  at  me,  then  at  the 
medicine-man,  and  then  at  his  suffering  wife,  said,  "  /  will 
be  glad;"  when,  making  the  signal,  the  drum  was  hushed, 
and  the  insulted  operator,  with  a  scowl  at  me,  rushed  from 
the  wigwam,  in  all  the  fiery  temperament  that  such  a 
stroke  at  his  art  was  so  well  calculated  to  enkindle. 

A  brief  examination  of  the  case  satisfied  me  that  there 
was  no  time  to  be  lost,  and  that  the  remedies  must  be  of  the 
most  powerful  class.  My  first  impression  was  that  the 
patient  was  laboring  under  puerperal  fever ;  but  a  further 
testing  of  the  symptoms  satisfied  me  that  it  was  pleurisy. 
The  inflammation  was  great,  and  the  suffering  extreme. 
Blood-letting  gave  partial  relief.  Warm  applications,  in 
the  form  of  fomentations,  not  being  at  hand,  I  directed  a 
hole  to  be  dug  at  the  door  of  the  wigwam,  and  filled  with 
water;  meantime  a  large  fire  was  kindled,  and  stones  were 


MEMOIRS,  &c.,  &c.  71 

thrown  into  it,  which,  on  becoming  hot,  were  put  into  the 
water,  till,  by  this  means,  it  was  sufficiently  heated,  when  the 
patient  was  drawn  down  upon  her  mat,  till  her  feet  and 
legs  were  immersed  knee  deep.  Blankets  from  my  stores 
were  then  wrapped  round  and  over  her.  In  five  minutes 
the  perspiration  literally  rolled  down  her  cheeks.  Mean- 
time, I  directed  Ben  to  make  a  good  bed  out  of  blankets, 
with  a  pillow  of  the  same,  when  she  was  drawn  back  again, 
and  placed  upon  it,  her  ragged  mat  of  a  bed  being  left  at 
the  door  of  the  wigwam,  and  then  thrown  away.  Her 
symptoms  were  greatly  improved,  which,  added  to  her 
more  comfortable  bed,  caused  this  poor  destitute  daughter 
of  the  forest  to  look  volumes  of  gratitude,  though  without 
uttering  a  word.  Twelve  grains  of  calomel  that  night, 
and  a  dose  of  magnesia  in  the  morning,  concluded  the 
treatment,  which  I  took  care  to  sustain  by  light  diet,  in  the 
form  of  tea,  with  crackers  broken  in  it.  All  being  so  well, 
I  left  in  the  afternoon  of  the  next  day,  placing  by  her  a 
nourishing  diet,  with  a  superadded  bottle  of  sweetened 
water,  dashed  with  claret  wine.  Tea  and  crackers,  bot- 
tled, which  she  was  to  warm  before  taking,  was  to  be  her 
food  till  what  I  left  was  gone,  when  a  certain  portion  of 
the  wine  and  water  was,  afterwards,  to  be  taken.  Dog- 
soup  and  fish  were  prohibited,  until  she  felt  very  hungry, 
and  then  these  were  to  be  eaten  in  moderation.  This  be- 
ing all  arranged,  I  embarked.  Having  lost  time,  I  pro- 
posed to  the  voyagers  to  go  on  all  night,  which  they  agreed 
to,  on  condition  of  being  paid  additional  rations,  including, 
of  course,  tobacco. 

These  hardy  adventurous  fellows  never  rose  from  their 
paddles,  nor  stopped,  except  to  "pipe"  from  four  o'clock, 
P.  M.,  of  one  day,  till  eleven  o'clock,  A.  M.,  of  the  next,  a 
period  of  nineteen  hours,  without  rest  or  sleep,  filling  the 
air  with  their  chanting,  and  giving  new  life  to  their  efforts 
by  their  choruses.  In  coasting  along  the  southern  shore 
of  the  bay,  I  saw  ample  evidence,  in  the  uprooting  of  enor- 


72  MEMOIRS,  &c.,  &c. 

mous  trees,  that  were  lying  in  all  directions,  of  the  force 
and  violence  of  the  storm  to  which  I  have  referred. 

My  attention,  as  I  neared  the  fort,  was  arrested  by  the 
sudden  opening  of  the  gates,  and  the  running  down  the 
pier  of  the  officers  and  others.  I  was  at  a  loss  to  divine 
the  meaning.  My  destination  was  to  the  village,  three 
miles  beyond ;  but,  on  seeing  this  movement,  I  ordered  my 
steersman  to  turn  in,  and  bring  up  alongside  the  pier.  It 
was  done.  When  within  speaking  distance,  I  called  to 
know  if  anything  special  was  the  matter.  The  answer 
was,  "  Seeing  a  canoe  with  a  United  States  flag  flying, 
and  manned  as  this  is,  we  thought  it  was  Governor  Cass, 
and  are  troubled  to  find  that  we  are  mistaken."  What's 
the  matter  ?  "  Two  runners  have  been  in,  bringing  intel- 
ligence that,  as  he  was  passing  down  the  Ouisconsin,  just 
beyond  the  portage,  he  was  fired  into  by  Indians,  his  cook 
killed,  two  of  his  men  wounded,  and  himself  and  the  re- 
mainder taken  prisoners !"  Then  why,  I  asked,  has  not 
the  force  of  this  place  been  employed  to  rescue  the  go- 
vernor and  his  party,  and  punish  the  outrage  ?  No  satis- 
factory answer  being  given,  I  proceeded  on  to  the  village, 
receiving,  however,  the  assurance  that  the  fort  would  be 
left  in  charge  of  as  much  force  as  might  be  deemed  neces- 
sary for  its  defence,  and  with  the  remainder,  an  ascent  of 
the  Fox  river  would  be  made,  and  pursuit  given  after  the 
murderers.  I  agreed  to  accompany  the  expedition. 

On  arriving  at  the  village,  I  found  the  inhabitants  in  a 
state  of  the  greatest  alarm.  Women  were  expressing  their 
dread  of  an  Indian  incursion  and  massacre,  and  began  to 
make  ready  to  take  refuge  in  the  fort.  I  proposed  a 
muster  of  the  force  of  the  place,  an  arming,  and  the  throw- 
ing out  of  videttes,  and  stationing  guards,  &c.  Prepara- 
tions for  embarkation  at  the  fort,  and  a  plan  of  defence  at 
the  village,  were  going  bravely  on,  when  a  canoe  was  seen 
coming  up  the  bay,  and  in  the  direction  of  Lake  Michigan. 
All  eyes  were  fixed  upon  it.  A  flag  was  seen  flying  at  its 


MEMOIRS,  dec.,  &c.  73 

stern.  It  drew  nearer — when,  by  the  aid  of  a  glass,  Go- 
vernor Cass  was  recognized,  his  crew,  the  killed  cook, 
and  all !  The  panic  was  ended,  and  the  joy  universal. 
There  had  been  no  attack  made  upon  the  governor ;  but, 
on  his  arrival  at  Prairie  du  Chien,  he  found  that  murders 
had  been  committed  there ;  and  apprehending  a  frontier 
war,  he  pushed  on  down  the  Mississippi  in  his  bark  canoe 
to  St.  Louis,  had  an  interview  with  General  Atkinson,  who, 
with  his  command,  was  soon  in  motion ;  then,  continuing 
up  the  Illinois  river,  and  through  Lake  Michigan  to  Green 
Bay,  where  our  meeting  took  place,  when  our  treaty  ope- 
rations were  commenced. 

Information  had  been  conveyed  to  us  by  some  of  our 
people,  that  FOUR-LEGS,  a  distinguished  Winnebago  chief, 
and  others,  had  shown  symptoms  of  an  unruly  sort,  and 
fears  were  entertained  lest  he  might  lead  on  an  attack 
upon  our  party,  and  capture  the  property  then  on  the 
treaty  ground.  On  the  receipt  of  this  intelligence,  I 
requested  the  commanding  officer,  Major  Whistler,  to 
have  a  six-pounder  sent  to  the  Butte  de  Morts.  It  was 
accordingly  forwarded,  and  mounted  just  in  front  of  the 
door  of  my  tent,  its  muzzle  pointing  in  the  direction  of 
Winnebago  lake. 

On  the  route  to  Butte  de  Morts,  voyagers  are  impeded 
by  the  rapids  at  the  Grand  Kockalas — a  shoot  of  water 
which  stretches  Diagonally  across  the  river,  of  an  average 
descent  of  some  four  or  five  feet,  producing  a  whirl  and  tum- 
ble of  rapids  below,  which  do  not  find  rest  for  the  distance 
of  a  quarter  of  a  mile.  A  portage  is  made  here  by  all  who 
ascend  this  river.  During  this  process,  and  while  the 
men  were  busy  in  carrying  the  baggage,  &c.,  around  the 
rapids,  I  sat  under  the  shade  of  a  large  tree,  amusing 
myself  with  picking  with  a  bristle  the  nipples  of  a  pair  of 
pistols,  which  were  just  large  enough  to  be  conveniently 
carried  in  my  vest  pockets.  A  young  Indian  of  about 
twenty-five  years  old,  stood  leaning  over  me,  watching  the 

VOL.   I.  10 


74  MEMOIRS,  &c.,  &c. 

process.  Presently  he  gave  a  shout  and  a  laugh,  saying, 
"  Short  gun — my  father  may  shoot  me — hurt  nobody." 
I  told  the  interpreter  to  tell  him  if  he  wanted  to  know 
what  these  short  guns  could  do,  just  to  go  across  Fox  river 
and  stand  there,  and  if  he  desires  to  have  a  hole  made 
through  him,  he  can  then  be  gratified.  He  shook  his  head 
and  laughed,  manifestly  holding  both  myself,  and  my 
"  short  guns,"  in  derision.  I  was  compelled  either  to  do 
something  practically  with  my  pistols,  or  forfeit  the  res- 
pect of  at  least  one  of  those  who  were  destined  to  be  of 
the  council  at  the  treaty  ground.  There  lay  before  me 
on  the  grass  a  bit  of  bark,  some  six  inches  long,  and  about 
four  wide.  I  told  Ben  to  put  it  in  the  ground,  at  about 
five  paces  from  me.  To  the  interpreter  I  said,  now  tell 
him  I  am  going  to  let  him  see  whether  these  "  short  guns" 
are  to  be  laughed  at.  It  was  a  desperate  experiment,  I 
knew ;  for  should  I  miss  the  bark,  I  should  have  subjected 
myself  to  the  scorn  and  contempt  of  this  doubting  Indian. 
I  took  aim,  seated  as  I  was,  and  fired. 

The  bark  fell.  The  Indian  sprang  to  it,  took  it  up,  and 
looked  at  it  on  the  side  that  was  exposed  to  my  shot. 
The  ball  being  only  the  size  of  a  buck-shot,  he  could  see 
no  place  of  entrance,  the  filaments  of  the  inner  lining  of 
the  rougher  outside  having  closed  over  the  aperture.  He 
laughed,  and  clapped  his  hand  on  his  thigh,  and  pointed  in 
derision  at  the  pistol.  I  knew  I  had  hit  the  bark,  and  felt 
satisfied  that  a  piece  had  been  split  off  on  the  opposite 
side,  and  so  I  told  him  to  look  at  that  side.  He  did  so, 
and  gave  signs  of  astonishment.  He  then  pushed  his 
rifle-picker  through  the  hole,  and  saw,  sure  enough,  that  it 
had  been  made  by  the  shot  from  my  "  little  gun,"  when  he 
came  up  with  a  changed  countenance,  and  asked  permis- 
sion to  examine  it.  He  was  gratified,  and  seemed  to 
think  there  was  something  more  about  it  than  met  his  eye. 

An  old  Indian  seated  near  me,  took  out  of  his  pouch  a 
bit  of  spunk,  and  flint  and  steel,  and  began  to  strike  fire 


MEMOIRS,   &c.,  &c.  75 

to  light  his  pipe.  I  directed  the  interpreter  to  tell  him  he 
need  not  be  at  that  trouble,  that  I  would  bring  down  fire 
from  the  sun,  and  light  his  pipe  with  that.  He  looked  at 
me  awhile,  and  shook  his  head,  as  much  as  to  say,  non- 
sense !  I  rose  and  went  to  him,  drawing  from  my  pocket 
a  sun-glass,  and,  carefully  concealing  it  from  his  view,  drew 
through  it  the  focal  rays,  and  told  him  to  smoke.  He  did 
so,  when  the  tobacco  being  ignited,  and  the  smoke  from  it 
filling  his  mouth,  he  first  looked  at  me,  then  at  the  sun, 
then  at  his  pipe,  with  eyes  that  danced  in  their  sockets 
with  amazement  and  awe.  These  two  circumstances 
made  of  me  almost  a  Manitou. 

One  other  event  tended  very  much  to  confirm  this  be- 
lief. We  had  arrived  at  the  treaty  ground,  and  were 
waiting  to  give  time  for  as  many  Indians  to  come  in  as 
might  be  on  their  way  to  it.  The  delay  caused,  in  those 
who  had  been  there  for  several  days,  as  is  always  the  case, 
a  tedium.  To  call  them  off  from  this  state  of  idleness,  I 
directed  an  empty  barrel  to  be  anchored  in  the  direction 
of  Winnebago  lake,  at  a  distance  of  about  a  quarter  of  a 
mile,  and  then  summoned  the  Indians  round  to  witness  the 
power  of  the  six-pounder.  Very  few  of  them  had  ever 
heard  a  report  louder  than  the  crack  of  their  rifles.  Every- 
thing being  ready,  I  invited  several  of  our  party  to  take 
turns  in  firing.  Each  had  a  shot  at  the  barrel.  All 
missed  it,  but  the  w^ater  was  ploughed  up  by  the  balls  in 
columns  and  sheets,  the  foam  and  spray  often  for  awhile 
obscuring  the  barrel  from  our  view.  I  then  said  I  would 
try.  The  gun  being  loaded,  I  drew  what  I  thought  was  a 
true  sight,  fired,  and  shivered  the  barrel  to  atoms ;  when, 
turning  short  about,  I  walked  leisurely  to  my  tent,  leaving 
the  Indians  to  their  own  reflections — many  of  whom  came 
to  my  tent  and  looked  in  upon  me,  not  doubting  what  I 
knew  to  be  quite  an  accidental  affair,  was  something  su- 
perhuman; and  especially  did  those  arrive  at  this  conclu- 
sion who  had  heard  of  my  hitting  the  bit  of  bark  with  a 


76  MEMOIRS,  &c.,  &c. 

gun  not  larger  than  their  little  finger,  and  of  my  having 
lighted  the  old  chief's  pipe  with  the  fire  drawn  from  the 
sun,  which  latter  circumstance  I  found  had  been  much 
talked  of. 

The  Indians  were  now  pouring  in — their  canoes  looking 
like  fleets — some  by  the  way  of  Winnebago  lake,  others 
by  that  of  the  Fox  river  below.  I  was  seated  in  my  tent- 
door  observing  these  little  fleets,  and  watching  the  move- 
ments of  the  Indians  as  they  landed ;  the  squaws  labori- 
ous and  busy,  plying  their  paddles  to  reach  the  shore  of 
their  destination,  and  then  foremost  in  the  work  of  unload- 
ing, and  conveying  their  poor  stores  and  lodge-poles,  and 
bark  to  cover  them,  their  kettles,  &c.,  to  the  beach — 
when  they  would  take  the  canoe  by  one  or  more  of  the 
cross-bars,  and  walk  with  it  out  of  the  water  to  some  se- 
cure place,  where  they  would  turn  it  bottom  upwards,  and 
then  return  for  the  materials  for  their  lodges,  convey  them 
to  some  spot  which  their  quick  glancing  eye  would  .light 
upon,  and  then  begin  and  end  the  process  of  putting  up 
their  place  of  repose  during  the  continuance  of  the  treaty ; 
their  lords,  meantime,  looking  on  with  but  seeming  little 
concern ;  or,  with  blankets  about  their  hips,  standing  or 
sitting,  indulging  in  the  luxury  of  the  calumet. 

It  was  in  the  midst  of  all  this  that  I  saw  a  canoe  coming 
up  the  river,  worked  by  two  men,  the  woman  and  two 
girls  doing  nothing.  This  was  so  new  a  circumstance,  as 
to  call  my  attention  from  the  general  movements,  to  this 
single  arrival.  I  thought  there  must  be  a  sprinkling  of 
civilization  there ;  and  that  the  men  had  been  led  by  it  to 
regard  the  women  with  a  more  appropriate  tenderness. 
As  soon  as  the  canoe  had  approached  the  shore  near 
enough  for  the  party  to  step  out,  the  men,  I  remarked, 
carried  out  this  principle  of  tender  regard  for  the  sex,  and 
were  the  first  to  step  into  the  water,  and  the  first  to  com- 
mence the  process  of  unloading ;  in  a  word,  the  woman 
and  the  girls  were  but  lookers  on.  All  the  articles,  with 


MEMOIRS,  &c.,  &c.  77 

the  canoe,  being  disposed  of,  I  saw  the  man  stoop  down 
and  pick  up  a  white  fish  of  uncommon  size ;  when  he  step- 
ped forward,  followed  in  Indian  file  by  the  rest,  including 
some  half  dozen  dogs.  He  wound  round  the  little  bluff 
upon  which  my  tent  was  pitched,  and  when  I  saw  him 
again  rising  to  nearly  a  level  with  me,  his  eyes  were  in 
motion,  looking  in  every  direction,  till  presently  they  fell 
on  me,  when  he  made  a  short  angle,  followed  still  by  his 
family,  walked  up  to  me,  and  stooping,  laid  the  fish  at  my 
feet — then  gracefully  rising,  he  turned  and  walked  away 
to  the  place  where  his  canoe  and  his  effects  had  been 
placed,  and  commenced  putting  up  his  lodge.  This  was 
the  family  from  the  island,  and  the  woman  was  the  same 
I  had  cured;  the  man  was  her  husband,  and  the  young 
man  and  girls  were  her  children.  This  offering  of  the 
white  fish,  was  an  INDIAN'S  GRATITUDE  !  Noble  trait ! 
Where  this  feeling  has  place,  in  no  matter  what  bosom, 
whether  it  be  red,  or  white,  or  black,  all  beside  is  apt  to 
be  right.  Yes,  and  there  is  no  doubt  but  if  this  poor 
Indian  had  possessed  silver  and  gold,  these  richer  offer- 
ings would  have  been  as  freely  made,  and  in  the  same  way. 
This  was  another  proof,  further  confirming  my  previously 
conceived  belief,  that  this  noble  race  was  never  intended 
by  their  Maker  to  be  trodden  down  and  persecuted,  after 
the  manner  in  which  this  work  of  extermination  has  been 
carried  on  by  our  race. 

I  made  a  couple  of  trips  to  the  village  and  fort  before 
the  council  was  opened.  In  one  of  them  I  prevailed  on 
one  of  my  voyagers — the  rest  declining — to  go  with  me 
over  the  shoot,  and  down  the  rapids  of  the  Grand  Kocka- 
las.  There  was  one  place  which  had  been  worn  more 
smooth  than  the  rest,  of  about  ten  feet  wide,  over  which, 
at  high  water,  barges  descending  the  river  could  go.  But 
it  was  low  water  now,  yet  enough  remaining,  over  the 
shoot,  to  pass  a  bark  canoe.  My  voyager  was  firm.  I 
saw  him  to  be  so — when,  taking  my  seat  on  the  bottom  of 


78  MEMOIRS,   &c.,  &c. 

the  canoe,  and  about  midway,  he  pushed  boldly  out ;  then 
the  current  striking  the  canoe,  a  contest  was  begun  be- 
tween the  skill  of  my  brave,  and  this  rush  of  waters.  At 
last  he  had  the  head  of  the  canoe  on  a  line  with  the  shoot, 
when  down  and  over  she  went,  with  the  velocity  of  an  ar- 
row, making  a  plunge  of  some  four  or  five  feet — the  skill 
and  self-possession  of  my  voyager  having  governed  him  in 
making  a  single  stroke  with  his  pole,  at  the  instant  when 
it  was  required,  just  as  the  leap  was  about  to  be  made, 
thus  preventing  the  turning  of  the  canoe's  side  to  the  cur- 
rent, and  a  consequent  wreck.  Never  before  had  I  seen 
anything  upon  the  waters  dance  and  bounce  about  as  did 
this  canoe,  when  fairly  down  amidst  the  rapids  and  break- 
ers. The  thing  seemed  like  a  joyous  bird,  after  having 
escaped  the  toils  of  the  fowler ;  or  like  some  little  bloom- 
ing beauty  of  a  child,  after  the  restraints  had  been  cut 
loose,  and  she  was  fairly  in  among  her  happy  and  delighted 
playmates. 

We  were  prepared  to  open  the  council  on  Wednesday, 
the  first  of  August,  1827,  but  concluded  to  defer  it  one  day 
longer,  and  until  tidings  should  reach  us  of  the  movements 
of  General  Atkinson.  Meantime,  however,  we  thought  it 
proper  to  hold  a  talk  with  the  Winnebagoes,  of  whom 
there  were  some  five  hundred  present,  and  inform  them 
that  the  murders  that  had  been  committed,  were  by  indi- 
viduals of  their  tribe,  and  urge  upon  them  the  surrender 
of  the  guilty  persons,  and  thereby  save  themselves  from 
the  consequences  of  a  war  for  their  capture.  At  the  mo- 
ment when  orders  were  about  to  be  given  to  convene  those 
present  of  the  Winnebago  tribe,  we  learned  they  were  ma- 
king ready  for  a  feast — we  therefore  postponed  assembling 
them  until  the  next  day.  The  following  morning  the  talk 
was  made,  and  they  were  urged  to  give  up  the  murderers, 
it  being  no  part  of  their  Great  Father's  wish  to  punish  the 
innocent;  but  that  if  their  people  would  so  far  forget  them- 
selves as  to  kill  our  people,  they  must  expect  a  road  to  be 


MEMOIRS,  &c.,  &c.  79 

made  through  their  country,  not  with  axes,  but  with  guns. 
The  chief,  Four-Legs,  vindicated  his  band,  asserting  their  in- 
nocence, and  referring  the  murders  to  those  living  on  the 
Mississippi.  He  did  not  think  it  just  to  bring  guns  among 
the  innocent.  This  fine-looking  chief  occupied,  with  his 
village,  the  tongue  of  land  which  runs  out  between  Win- 
nebago  lake,  on  the  one  side,  and  the  Fox  river  on  the 
other.  When  General  Leavenworth,  some  years  previous, 
was  ascending  the  Fox  river  with  troops,  on  his  way  to  the 
Mississippi,  on  arriving  at  this  pass,  Four-Legs  came  out, 
dressed  in  all  his  gewgaws  and  feathers,  and  painted  after 
the  most  approved  fashion,  and  announced  to  the  general 
that  he  could  not  go  through ;  " the  lake"  said  he,  " is 
locked"  " Tell  him,"  said  the  general,  rising  in  his  bat- 
teaux,  with  a  rifle  in  his  hand,  "  that  THIS  is  THE  KEY,  and 
I  shall  unlock  it,  and  go  on."  The  chief  had  a  good  deal 
of  the  better  part  of  valor  in  his  composition,  and  so  he 
replied, "  Very  well,  tell  him  he  can  go." 

Still  anxious  to  hear  from  General  Atkinson  before  we 
opened,  formally,  our  councils,  we  deferred  yet  longer  the 
opening  of  our  negotiations,  and  sent  a  Winnebago  run- 
ner with  despatches,  to  meet  that  officer. 


80  MEMOIRS,  &c.,  &c. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

INCIDENTS  OF  THE  COUNCIL  AT  LE  PETIT  BUTTE  DE  MORTS. 

Sabbath  amid  Nature's  solitudes — Christian  Indians  engaged  in  worship — Open- 
ing of  the  Council — A  contrast — Treaty  adjusted  and  signed — An  alarm — Le 
Grand  JButte  de  Morts — Indian  tradition — Death  of  a  medicine-man — Funeral 
ceremonies — Distribution  of  presents  among  the  Indians — Breaking  up  of  the 
encampment — Brutal  attack  upon  a  woman — Chargeable  to  whiskey — The 
man  transformed  to  a  woman — Moral  effects  of  this  punishment — Awful  evils 
of  the  whiskey  trade — Embarkation — Ascending  the  Fox  river — Dangers  of 
the  way — Some  of  my  party  return — Number  of  our  men — Incidents  t)y  the 
way — A  chase. 

THE  Sabbath  of  the  5th  of  August  broke  upon  us  in 
great  beauty,  and  with  an  air  tempered  and  calm.  I  have 
never  been  able,  in  my  forest  rambles,  to  disengage 
from  my  mind  the  impression  that  the  Sabbath  and  these 
solitudes  are  in  close  affinity  with  one  another.  How 
rarely  has  it  happened,  in  the  course  of  my  experience, 
that  this  holy  day  has  been  vexed  with  the  strife  of  ele- 
ments. On  the  contrary,  all  is  still !  The  voice  of  their 
Maker  would  seem  to  have  hushed  river  and  forest  into 
silence,  and  then  to  have  bade  the  sun  to  wheel  himself  up 
from  his  depths  in  the  east,  and  pour  over  all,  unobscured 
by  clouds,  a  tempered  heat,  and  crown  the  world  with  spe- 
cial loveliness.  The  dawn  of  this  morning  was  peculiarly 
beautiful.  "  Rosy  fingers"  did  indeed  seem,  as  Milton  has 
it,  to  "  unbar  the  gates  of  light."  Violet  and  purple,  with 
a  wide  and  widening  circle  of  "  orient  pearl,"  all  met  my 
eye  with  their  charming  and  chastening  influences — and 
then  there  was  such  silence !  Not  a  leaf  rustled,  and  the 


ttfll  i  ;Ai 


MEMOIRS,  &c.,  &c.  81 

waves  broke  in  softer  murmur  on  the  shore.  The  tree- 
tops  now  began  to  revel  in  the  beams,  and  then  the  high- 
lands to  drink  in  the  falling  glory,  till  the  entire  circuit  of 
the  heavens  was  full  of  the  tempered  splendors  .of  this 
Sabbath  morn ! 

Yet  all  this  silence  was  broken  in  upon  this  morning — 
for  just  between  the  time  when  the  eastern  sky  was  made 
mellow  with  the  sun's  light,  and  when  the  light  began  to 
tip  the  tops  of  tree  and  mountain,  and  all  was  so  quiet,  my 
ears  were  greeted  by  sweet  sounds  of  music !  They  came 
from  a  lodge  of  Christian  Indians,  which  was  hard  by,  in 
the  woods.  They  had  risen  with  the  day,  to  "  worship 
God !"  They  sang  in  three  parts,  base,  tenor,  and  treble, 
and  with  a  time  so  true,  and  with  voices  so  sweet,  as  to 
add  harmony  even  to  nature  itself.  Notes  of  thrush  and 
nightingale  sound  sweeter  when  poured  forth  amidst  the 
grove ;  so  sounded  those  of  these  forest  warblers,  in  the 
midst  of  the  green  foliage,  and  in  the  stillness  of  the  woods. 
I  attended  their  worship,  and  was  present  again  with  them 
in  the  evening ;  and  as  I  listened  to  their  songs  of  praise, 
and  their  prayers,  I  felt  humbled,  and  ashamed  of  my  coun- 
try, in  view  of  the  wrongs  it  had  inflicted,  and  yet  continues 
to  inflict,  upon  these  desolate  and  destitute  children  of  the 
forest.  There  were  flowers  and  gems  there  which  needed 
only  to  be  cultivated  and  polished,  to  insure  from  the  one, 
the  emission  of  as  sweet  odors  as  ever  regaled  the  circles 
of  the  civilized;  and  from  the  other,  a  brilliance  as  daz- 
zling as  ever  sparkled  in  the  diadem  of  queenly  beauty. 
And  yet  they  were,  and  are,  neglected,  trodden  down,  and 
treated  as  outcasts ! 

At  twelve  o'clock  on  Monday,  the  signal  gun  for  the  as- 
sembling of  the  council,  was  fired — when  were  seen  coming 
in  from  all  directions,  the  great  multitude  of  the  sons  of 
the  forest,  to  hear  what  their  fathers  had  to  say  to  them. 
The  bands  represented  were  Chippewas,  Menomonies, 
Winnebagoes,  Wabanackies,  &c.,  &c. — in  all,  about  one 

VOL.   I.  11 


82  MEMOIRS,  &c.,  &c. 

thousand — all  attired  in  their  best  apparel,  ornamented  and 
painted  after  the  most  approved  Indian  fashion. 

The  council  square,  towards  which  all  who  were  entitled 
to  a  seat  in  it  were  wending  their  way,  was  covered  with 
boughs  of  evergreen,  resting  on  a  frame-work  of  timber, 
supported  by  posts  inserted  in  the  ground.  Seats  of  any 
sort  would  have  been  useless  appendages ;  for  Indians,  who 
are  not  civilized,  prefer  the  ground  to  sit  on,  and  knowing 
nothing  of  the  luxury  of  a  sofa,  or  chair,  or  of  the  "  three- 
legged  stool,"  on  which,  as  Cowper  sings — 


-The  immortal  Alfred  sat, 


And  swayed  the  sceptre  of  his  infant  realms," 

would  have  studiously  avoided  enjoying  either,  had  the 
ground  been  covered  with  them. 

A  few  slabs,  resting  on  pungeons  driven  in  the  ground, 
served  to  accommodate  those  who  were  not  so  familiar 
with  the  earth's  surface  as  are  the  Indians.  These  were 
placed  around  a  rude  table,  at  one  end  of  the  square,  on 
which  the  necessary  papers  and  writing  apparatus  were 
placed,  and  where  the  minutes  of  the  proceedings  were 
taken  by  the  secretary,  and  at  the  head  of  which  sat  the 
commissioners. 

Everywhere  over  the  ground,  in  the  woods,  and  on 
the  open  plain,  were  seen  moving  about  in  all  direc- 
tions squaws,  and  papooses,  and  dogs;  of  the  two  first, 
some  were  busy  with  their  fires,  over  which  kettles  were 
slung,  for  boiling  their  pork  and  beans ;  others  were  nurs- 
ing, whilst  others  again  were  running  every  way  after  the 
more  than  half-naked  children  of  larger  growth,  to  bring 
them  in,  preparatory  to  the  breaking  up  of  the  council,  to 
be  in  readiness  for  the  meal  that  was  to  be  eaten ;  whilst 
the  dogs  were  not  idle,  some  fighting,  and  others  busy  in 
the  more  agreeable  occupation  of  smelling  about  for  the 
fragments  of  the  last  meal — all  of  them  gaunt  as  half- 
starved  wolves,  and  not  unlike  them  in  form  and  action. 


MEMOIRS,   &c.,  <kc.  83 

Everywhere,  outside  of  the  council  square,  there  was 
life,  and  bustle,  and  confusion ;  all  within  was  quiet  and 
respectful.  I  could  not  help  thinking  how  much  many  of 
our  public  assemblies,  from  the  Capitol  at  Washington, 
through  the  States,  all  over  the  Union,  might  profit  by  ob- 
serving the  dignified  silence  and  attention  observed  by 
these  untutored  savages,  and  following  their  example,  at 
least  in  this  particular. 

The  governor  delivered  the  opening  address,  explaining 
the  leading  objects  for  which  the  council  had  been  called. 
These  embraced  the  adjustment  and  fixing  of  boundary 
lines  between  the  different  tribes,  and  to  peace  and  harmo- 
ny among  them — the  rupture  of  the  last  being  almost  al- 
ways, and  having  been  so  from  time  immemorial,  conse- 
quent upon  the  uncertainty  of  the  first.  A  war  of  over  a 
hundred  years'  duration  had  continued  between  the  Sioux 
and  Chippewas,  which  was  terminated  by  the  treaty  of 
Fond  du  Lac,  of  the  previous  year,  in  which  the  bounda- 
ries were  established  between  them. 

The  claim  to  lands  set  up  by  the  New  York  Indians  was 
also  brought  before  the  council,  and  finally  adjusted ;  and 
another  appeal  was  also  made  to  the  Winnebagoes,  of  a 
warning  character,  in  which  they  were  admonished  to 
bring  in  the  murderers,  and  save  their  people  from  the 
consequences  of  a  war.  The  council  closed,  and  the  In- 
dians retired  to  deliberate,  &c. 

Thump — thump — thump.  A  drum !  It  was  the  medi- 
cine-man's drum  over  a  sick  child,  accompanied  by  the 
usual  pow-wowing,  which  was  begun  at  four  o'clock,  P.  M., 
and  continued  till  eleven  at  night.  Rev.  Mr.  Flavell,  a 
Roman  Catholic  priest,  and  the  Rev.  Mr.  Jones,  a  Protes- 
tant Episcopal  clergyman,  the  first  settled  at  Green  Bay, 
last  destined  to  the  St.  Peter's,  offered  up  prayers.  The 
Christian  Indians  sang  again  this  evening,  their  hymns  being 
made  more  strikingly  sweet  by  the  yelling  and  whooping 
of  the  wild  Indians  by  whom  they  were  surrounded.  What 


84  MEMOIRS,  &c.,  &c. 

a  contrast !  The  woods  made  vocal  on  the  one  hand  by 
Christian  music,  and  startled  on  the  other  by  the  wild  yells 
of  the  uncivilized !  And  yet  both  proceeding  from  the 
same  race. 

From  the  6th  to  the  llth  we  were  busy  with  the  details 
of  the  treaty,  which,  being  adjusted  and  read,  was  agreed 
to,  and  signed.  The  Chippewa  and  Menomonie  lines 
were  designated,  whilst  the  Winnebagoes  and  Menomonies 
agreed  to  have  theirs  in  common. 

Meantime,  incidents  were  not  wanting  to  give  excite- 
ment, some  of  these  being  quite  alarming.  We  were 
aroused  at  ten  o'clock  at  night,  on  Wednesday,  the  8th 
July,  by  Major  R.,  who  came  to  inform  us  that  a  Chippe- 
wa had  given  information  of  the  intention  of  the  Winne- 
bagoes to  rise  upon  and  murder  us.  In  confirmation  of 
this  purpose,  another  messenger  came  to  say  that  a  Win- 
nebago  squaw  had  been  to  a  Wabanackie,  to  borrow  some 
musket  balls.  The  guard  was  doubled,  and  everything  put 
in  readiness  for  the  attack,  but  all  remained  quiet.  The 
10th  brought  with  it  a  violent  storm  of  wind,  rain,  light- 
ning and  thunder.  It  seemed  as  if  it  would  sweep  us,  with 
our  log  huts  and  tents,  away.  It  continued  until  four,  P.  M. 
Our  flag-staff,  that  was  planted  on  the  apex  of  Le  Butte 
de  Morts,  was  bent  into  a  bow  by  it,  but  was  neither 
broken  nor  uprooted. 

Beside  this  Petit  Butte  de  Morts,  there  is  another  on  the 
western  shore  of  Winnebago  lake,  and  some  ten  miles 
above  this,  which  the  French  call  Le  Grand  Butte  de 
Morts.  The  French  having  been  the  first  to  traverse  these 
regions,  have  given  names  to  almost  everything  that  is  dis- 
tinguishable by  a  name.  All  mounds  that  I  have  seen,  that 
are  conical  in  form,  as  are  these  two  hills  of  the  dead,  are 
full  of  the  bones  of  men.  I  sought  of  aged  Indians  their 
tradition  in  relation  to  this  little,  as  well  as  the  great  hill 
of  the  dead,  and  learned  that  a  long  time  ago  a  bat- 
tle was  fought,  first  upon  the  spot  upon  which  is  Le  Petit 


MEMOIRS,   &c.,  &c.  85 

Butte  de  Morts,  and  the  grounds  adjacent,  and  continued 
upon  that,  and  the  surrounding  country,  upon  which  is 
found  Le  Grand  Butte  de  Morts,  between  the  Iroquois  and 
Fox  Indians,  in  which  the  Iroquois  were  victorious,  killing 
an  immense  number  of  the  Foxes  at  Le  Petit  Butte  de 
Morts ;  when,  being  beaten,  the  Foxes  retreated,  but  rallied 
at  Le  Grand  Butte  de  Morts,  and  fought  until  they  were 
nearly  all  slain.  Those  who  survived,  fled  to  the  Missis- 
sippi, and  down  that  river  to  the  country  about  the  Des 
Moine  Rapids,  Rocky  Island,  Du  Buques,  &c.,  where  they 
multiplied,  and  again  became  a  formidable  people.  In  those 
two  mounds,  it  is  said,  repose  the  remains  of  those  slain 
at  those  two  battles. 

Despatches  were  received  from  General  Atkinson,  bear- 
ing date  July  31.  At  breakfast,  Captain  B.  informed  the 
general  and  myself  that  he  had  reasons  for  suspecting  the 
Winnebagoes,  and  was  under  arms  all  night.  In  every 
direction  were  seen  moving  stealthily  about,  these  irritated 
and  war-loving  people.  It  then  occurred  to  me  that  I  had 
heard  some  one  busy  in  the  night  at  our  grindstone,  which 
was  near  my  tent,  sharpening  knives.  Possibly  the  cap- 
tain mistook  the  object  of  the  movements  of  these  people. 
We  commended  his  vigilance. 

After  breakfast,  Priest  Flavell  came  to  me,  saying  in 
broken  English — "  I  have  been,  sair,  to  de  governor,  to  say 
that  one  grand  medicine-man  be  dead ;  and  to  ask  him  for 
someting  to  make  shroud — and  for  some  candle — and  to 
say  how  much  please  I  shall  be,  if  he  will  give  order  for 
de  band  of  music  to  play,  while  we  march  to  de  grave  to 
bury  him.  He  told  me,  sair,  you  would  answer  dese 
questions."  I  did,  of  course,  answer  them  in  the  affirma- 
tive ;  when  the  good  priest  rubbed  his  hands,  made  his  bow, 
saying,  "  Dis  will  be  grand  affair."  He  had  not  been  gone 
an  hour  before  he  came  back  in  haste,  saying  with  great 
animation,  "  Tree  more  Indians  be  dead !  It  will  make 
one  grand  procession.  Will  you  give  order,  sair,  if  you 


86  MEMOIRS,   &c.,  &c. 

please,  for  more  muslin  for  shroud,  and  for  more  candles." 
Orders  were  given  accordingly.  Meantime,  a  tall  tree 
had  been  cut  down,  and  trimmed  of  its  branches,  when  its 
larger  end  was  inserted  in  a  natural  mound  near  by,  to  add 
to  its  elevation — upon  its  top  was  fastened  a  cross,  and 
from  beneath  this,  streamed  various  emblems,  indicating 
to  the  Indians  who  might  thereafter  pass  up  and  down  the 
river,  or  through  the  country,  that  the  dead  lay  buried 
there,  and  that  the  priestly  offices  had  been  there  exerci- 
sed. I  went  to  see  the  dead.  The  medicine-man  was  as 
fat,  almost,  as  Falstaff  is  represented  to  have  been — 
with  a  neck  very  nearly  resembling  that  which  Knicker- 
bocker describes  as  having  belonged  to  Wouter  Van  Twil- 
ler  ;  and,  like  this  redoubtable  governor's,  too,  the  medicine- 
man's cheeks  looked  as  if  they  "  had  taken  toll  of  every- 
thing that  had  gone  into  his  mouth."  The  others  were 
young;  two  boys  and  a  girl.  Many  others  were  on  the 
sick-list,  the  result,  doubtless,  of  the  abundance  of  rations 
in  beef  arid  pork,  &c.,  which  were  issued  daily  to  these  im- 
prudent but  gormandizing  people;  and  whose  appetites  being 
whetted  by  previous  fasting,  had  now  become  voracious — 
and  then  again,  the  usual  exercise  of  the  chase,  or  of  fishing, 
being  dispensed  with,  they  become  victimized  by  these  new 
gastronomic  relations.  If  the  business  of  the  treaty  had  been 
protracted  a  week  longer,  there  is  little  doubt  but  the  good 
Mr.  Flavell  would  have  gained  a  portion,  at  least,  of  that 
immortality,  in  his  connexion  with  the  dead,  that  SCOTT 
has  conferred  upon  his  "  Old  Mortality." 

The  morning  following,  the  signal  was  given  for  the 
funeral  procession  to  form.  We  all  joined  it,  preceded 
by  the  priest  and  the  music.  The  pensive  notes  of  funeral 
dirges  fell  mournfully  upon  our  ears;  but,  except  the 
Christian  Indians,  the  mass  would  have  been,  perhaps, 
more  struck  with  a  jig  from  a  hurdy-gurdy. 

The  business  of  the  treaty  over,  preparations  were 
made  for  the  distribution  of  presents.  This  ceremony  is 


MEMOIRS,  &c.,  &c.  87 

indispensable  at  all  such  assemblages,  made  so  no  less  by 
usage,  than  by  humanity  and  justice.  It  is  humane  to  feed 
these  impoverished  people,  and  no  more  than  justice,  after 
calling  them  away  from  their  homes,  thus  to  supply  their 
wants.  One  hundred  and  sixty-six  new  arrivals  of  Win- 
nebagoes  were  announced  on  this  occasion.  They  had 
doubtless  been  informed  when  the  presents  would  be  given 
out,  by  friends  who  had  kept  the  run  of  the  beginning  and 
end  of  the  business  part  of  the  ceremony.  The  distribu- 
tion of  presents  having  been  gone  through  with,  everything 
was  in  motion,  preparing  for  the  departure  of  all,  to  their 
respective  destinations.  The  wigwams  were  seen  first  to 
present  nothing  but  skeletons — the  bark  which  had  cover- 
ed them  being  taken  off  and  rolled  up,  to  be  used  at  the 
next  encamping  place.  Here  and  there,  the  poles  that 
had  formed  the  frames  of  the  wigwams,  if  very  well  turn- 
ed and  fitted,  were  also  taken  down,  to  form  a  flooring  for 
the  canoes,  as  well  as  to  be  put  up  as  future  occasions 
might  demand  them.  Some  canoes  were  undergoing  the 
operation  of  being  gummed,  whilst  the  smoke  of  the  fires 
ascended,  filling  the  area  with  the  incense  odor,  peculiar  to 
them.  This  odor  is  the  joint  product  of  an  occasional 
boiling  over  of  the  gum,  and  the  burning  of  pine  and  cedar, 
and  spruce  boughs  in  their  green  state.  At  one  place 
might  be  seen  a  group  of  squaws,  and  children,  and  dogs, 
all  seeming  to  be  engaged  in  huddling  together,  or  hauling 
to  the  water's  edge  their  provisions  and  effects ;  whilst 
others  had  their  canoes  in  the  water,  and  others  again 
were  in  the  act  of  gliding  away  upon  the  smooth  surface 
of  the  river,  enjoying  the  quiet  satisfaction  which  the  pre- 
sence of  rations  and  good  fare  are  so  well  calculated  to 
produce. 

At  this  moment  of  general  activity,  a  scream,  wild  and 
fearful,  was  uttered.  It  was  by  a  female.  A  rush  of  a 
thousand  Indians  was  made  for  the  spot  whence  it  pro- 
ceeded. I  looked,  and  saw  in  the  midst  of  the  crowd  a 


88  MEMOIRS,  &c.,  &c. 

man's  arm  raised,  with  a  knife  in  the  hand.  It  fell — and 
then  was  heard  another  scream !  When  I  sprang  to- 
wards the  scene  of  what  seemed  to  be  a  strife  of  blood, 
and  just  as  I  had  reached  it,  Major  F.,  having  started  from 
an  opposite  direction,  was  a  few  feet  in  advance  of  me ; 
and  at  the  instant  when  the  third  blow  was  about  to  fall 
upon  the  victim,  he  struck,  and  knocked  down  the  man 
who  was  thus  desperately  employing  the  bloody  weapon. 
There  stood,  trembling  and  bleeding,  a  fine-looking  squaw. 
She  was  mother  of  the  wife  of  the  man  who  had  made  the 
attempt  upon  her  life.  The  deltoide  muscle  of  each  arm, 
just  below  the  shoulder,  was  cut  with  deep  gashes.  These 
were  given,  as  each  arm  was  raised,  in  succession,  to 
shield  her  body  from  the  impending  knife.  The  first 
thrust  had  thus  disabled  one  arm,  the  second  the  other ; 
and  if  the  third  had  been  given,  there  being  no  shield  in 
the  arms  for  farther  protection,  (for  they  both  hung  power- 
less by  her  side)  it  would  doubtless  have  gone,  where  the 
two  first  were  aimed,  to  the  heart ! 

I  took  charge  of  the  trembling  and  agitated  woman, 
giving  order  to  the  soldiers  to  take  the  offender,  and  lock 
him  up  in  our  provision  house,  until  some  suitable  punish- 
ment should  be  agreed  upon  for  a  crime  so  flagrant  and 
bloody.  Our  surgeons  having  left  for  the  village,  I  clean- 
sed and  bound  up  the  wounds,  and  by  the  employment  of 
bandages,  kept  the  arms  stationary,  giving  her  directions 
not  to  use  them,  and  sent  her  in  charge  of  her  daughter 
and  some  friends  to  Green  Bay,  to  our  surgeon,  to  be  at- 
tended to. 

The  cause  of  the  outrage  was  as  follows  : — This  wo- 
man and  her  daughter  had  carefully  put  away  their  sup- 
plies, &c.,  in  their  canoe,  and  were  on  the  eve  of  embark- 
ing, when  it  was  rumored  among  the  Indians  that  a  whiskey 
dealer  had  arrived  in  the  woods,  back  of  our  treaty  ground. 
The  moment  it  reached  the  ears  of  this  reckless  Indian, 
he  started  with  others,  in  quest  of  the  whiskey.  The  mo- 


MEMOIRS,  &c.,  &c.  89 

ther-in-law,  well  knowing  that  their  calicoes,  and  blankets, 
and  strouding,  and  pork,  and  beef,  and  flour,  &c.,  would 
soon  be  parted  from,  in  exchange  for  this  fire-water,  fol- 
lowed him,  entreating  him  not  to  go,  but  to  go  home  and 
enjoy  what  had  been  given  them  there.  She  clung  to  him 
rather  inconveniently,  when  he  resolved  on  freeing  himself 
by  the  use  of  his  knife.  For  some  time  she  kept  off  his 
blows  with  her  paddle,  but  this  being  presently  knocked 
from  her  hand,  she  had  no  shield  left  but  her  arms,  and 
these  were  alternately  disabled  in  the  manner  I  have 
stated. 

Governor  Cass  coming  along,  I  narrated  all  this,  and  to 
the  inquiry,  what  shall  we  do  with  this  man  ?  answered 
promptly,  "  Make  a  woman  of  him"  And  so  we  did.  The 
process  was  on  this  wise.  The  several  interpreters  were 
sent  out  to  summon  in  the  Indians,  and  to  arrange  them 
around  the  Butte  de  Morts — the  women  and  children  in 
front.  This  being  done — from  eight  hundred  to  a  thou- 
sand, perhaps,  being  thus  assembled — the  offender  was 
brought  from  his  confinement,  and  led  by  a  couple  of  our 
voyagers  to  the  top  of  the  mound,  and  placed  against  the 
flag-staff;  Governor  Cass  and  myself,  and  the  interpreters, 
being  there  also.  Never  before  had  I  witnessed  in  Indi- 
ans a  feeling  so  intense.  Every  eye  of  chief,  half-chief, 
brave,  and  squaw,  aye,  and  of  every  child,  and  it  seemed 
to  me  of  every  dog  also,  was  beaming  with  concentrated 
lustre,  and  every  eye  was  upon  us.  They  had  all  heard 
of  the  assault  upon  the  woman,  but  to  a  man  justified  it — 
alleging  that  a  woman  was  nobody  when  the  power  and 
freedom  of  the  man  were  attempted  to  be  interfered  with ; 
and  that  the  life  of  any  woman  would  be  no  more  than  a 
just  forfeit  for  such  intermeddling. 

The  squaws  entertained  different  notions,  and  were 
deeply  interested,  personally,  in  the  scene  before  them,  not 
one  of  them  knowing  anything  farther  tlian  that  some 
punishment  was  to  be  inflicted  on  the  man  for  his  conduct. 

VOL.    I.  12 


90  MEMOIRS,  &c.,  &c. 

The  offender  stood  unmoved.  Not  a  particle  of  interest 
did  he  seem  to  take  in  what  was  to  befall  him.  If  he  had 
been  there  alone,  listening  to  the  rustling  leaves,  and  the 
moaning  of  the  winds,  and  looking  upon  the  woods,  the 
sky,  the  river,  and  the  lake,  he  could  not  have  been 
more  unmoved.  He*was  dressed  in  his  best.  Moccasins 
ornamented,  were  on  his  feet ;  his  leggins  were  of  scarlet 
cloth,  fringed  and  decorated,  besides,  with  bits  of  fur, 
foxes'  tails,  and  rattles.  A  good  blanket  was  about  his 
waist;  his  ears  were  ornamented  with  silver  rings,  his 
arms  with  bracelets,  his  face  with  paint,  and  his  hair 
sprinkled  with  vermilion. 

Attention  being  called  through  the  various  interpreters, 
the  governor  spoke,  explaining  the  case — the  innocence 
and  kind  designs  of  the  woman — the  propriety  and  useful- 
ness of  the  interference,  which  was  not  rudely  attempted 
— the  noble  object  of  keeping  her  daughter's  husband  from 
joining  in  drunken  revelries,  and  being  bereft  of  all  their 
stores,  and  then  going  home  poor,  and  naked,  and  hungry. 
That  was  her  object;  whilst  the  whiskey  trader  cared  for 
none  of  these  things,  but  sought  only  to  rob  them  of  their 
blankets  and  calicoes,  &c.,  and  give  them  nothing  in  ex- 
change for  them  but  fire-water.  The  Great  Spirit  looked 
down  and  smiled  on  this  act  of  the  woman,  and  was  angry 
at  the  bad  conduct  of  the  man,  and  with  the  whiskey  tra- 
der. It  was  for  an  attempt  so  kind,  and  so  proper,  on  her 
part,  that  this  man,  the  husband  of  her  daughter,  had  seized 
her,  and  with  his  knife  struck  at  her  heart,  to  kill  her,  and 
but  for  her  arms,  with  which  she  had  shielded  her  breast, 
she  would  have  been  murdered.  Her  cries,  and  tears,  and 
blood,  were  all  unavailing — nothing  could  have  saved  her, 
but  the  timely  arrival  of  help,  and  a  blow  that  put  it  out 
of  his  power  to  consummate  his  bloody  purpose.  For  this 
act,  he  shall  be  no  longer  a  brave ;  he  has  forfeited  his 
character  as  a  man ;  from  henceforth,  let  him  be  a  woman  ! 

At  this   annunciation,  the  chiefs  and  braves  muttered 


MEMOIRS,  &c.,  &c.  91 

vengeance.  We  were  told  by  the  interpreters,  they  would 
resist  us.  But  never  before  were  hearts  put  more  at  rest, 
or  did  hope  gleam  in  upon  such  a  multitude  of  squaws ; 
never  did  eyes  dance  in  frames  of  such  emotion,  or  smiles 
radiate  faces  with  such  animation.  Never  was  the  "  neaw!" 
a  term  expressive  of  mingled  surprise  and  gladness,  uttered 
with  such  vehemence  and  joy.  Even  the  papooses,  turn- 
ing from  their  sources  of  nourishment,  looked  round  as  if 
some  new  and  blessed  influence  was  felt  by  them,  and  the 
very  dogs  barked. 

Meantime,  a  voyager  had  procured  of  an  old  squaw  her 
petticoat,  stiff  with  the  accumulated  grease  and  dirt  of 
many  years.  As  he  ascended  the  mound  with  this  relic, 
another  mutter  of  vengeance  was  heard  from  the  men, 
whose  faces  were  black  with  rage;  but  it  was  literally 
drowned  amidst  the  acclamations  that  broke,  at  this  mo- 
ment, from  the  squaws.  Now  they  saw,  for  the  first  time, 
new  light  and  new  hope  breaking  in  upon  their  destiny. 
Our  burdens,  they  seemed  to  say,  will  be  lighter,  our  rights 
more  respected,  our  security  more  secure.  There  stood 
the  voyager,  holding  the  petticoat.  The  sight  of  both  was 
far  more  obnoxious  to  the  culprit,  than  would  have  been 
the  executioner,  armed  with  his  axe.  But  still  he  was  un- 
moved. Not  a  muscle  stirred.  Around  his  waist  was  a 
belt,  with  a  knife  in  it,  such  as  butchers  use.  Taking  hold 
of  the  handle,  I  drew  it  from  its  scabbard,  thrust  the  blade 
into  a  crack  in  the  flag-staff,  and  broke  it  off  at  the  handle ; 
then  putting  the  handle  in  the  culprit's  hand,  I  raised  it 
well  and  high  up,  and  said — No  man  who  employs  his  knife 
as  this  man  employs  his,  has  a  right  to  carry  one.  Hence- 
forth, this  shall  be  the  only  knife  he  shall  ever  use.  Wo- 
man, wherever  she  is,  should  be  protected  by  man,  not 
murdered.  She  is  man's  best  friend.  The  Great  Spirit 
gave  her  to  man  to  be  one  with  him,  and  to  bless  him ;  and 
man,  whether  red  or  white,  should  love  her,  and  make  her 
happy.  Then  turning  to  the  voyager,  I  told  him  to  strip 


92  MEMOIRS,   &c.,  &c. 

off  his  leggins  and  his  ornaments.  It  was  done,  when  the 
old  petticoat  was  put  on  him.  Being  thus  arrayed,  two 
voyagers,  each  putting  a  hand  upon  his  shoulders,  ran  him 
down  the  mound,  amidst  a  storm  of  indignation  from  the 
men,  mingled  with  every  variety  of  gladsome  utterance  by 
the  squaws ;  when,  letting  him  go,  he  continued  his  trot, 
alone,  to  a  lodge  near  by,  rushed  into  it,  and  fell  upon  his 
face.  An  interpreter  followed  him,  and  reported  his  con- 
dition, and  what  he  said.  His  first  words,  as  he  lay  on  his 
face,  were — "  I  wish  they  had  killed  me.  I  went  up  the 
mound  to  be  shot.  I  thought  I  was  taken  there  to  be  shot. 
I'd  rather  be  dead.  I  am  no  longer  a  brave  ;  I'm  a  WO- 
MAN !" 

Now  this  mode  of  punishment  was  intended  to  produce 
moral  results,  and  to  elevate  the  condition  of  women, 
among  the  Indians.  It  was  mild  in  its  physical  effects,  but 
more  terrible  than  death  in  its  action  and  consequences 
upon  the  offender.  Henceforth,  and  as  long  as  I  continued 
to  hear  of  this  "  brave,"  he  had  not  been  admitted  among 
his  former  associates,  but  was  pushed  aside  as  having  lost 
the  characteristics  of  his  sex,  and  doomed  to  the  perform- 
ance of  woman's  labor,  in  all  the  drudgery  to  which  she  is 
subject,  as  well  of  the  lodge,  as  of  all  other  menial  things. 
The  whiskey  trader  had  made  off,  or  he  would  have  been 
taught  a  lesson,  which,  with  the  proper  using,  might  have 
been  made  useful  to  him  for  the  remainder  of  his  days. 
Upon  these  incendiaries  among  the  Indians — these  mur- 
derers of  the  Indian's  health,  and  peace,  and  life — the  law 
should  have  always,  and  ought  now,  to  be  armed  with  such 
frightful  vengeance  as  to  deter  them  from  the  exercise  of 
their  avarice  under  this  form,  and  under  any  form,  among 
the  poor  Indians,  who  know  no  better  than  to  follow  the 
cravings  of  their  inordinate  thirst,  and  to  indulge,  when 
they  can  command  it,  without  stint,  in  that  which  makes 
brutes  of  them,  involving  them,  at  the  same  time,  in  every 
variety  of  wretchedness.  And  yet,  with  a  full  knowledge 


MEMOIRS,   &c.,  &c.  93 

of  these  effects  upon  this  hapless  race,  these  whiskey  tra- 
ders follow  these  poor  fellows  from  river  to  river,  and  from 
wilderness  to  wilderness,  and  from  lake  to  lake,  entailing, 
from  year  to  year,  this  unmitigated  curse  upon  them. 

Who  can  account  for  the  apathy  that  pervades  the  coun- 
cils of  this  great  nation  upon  this  subject  ?  And  where 
shall  be  found  a  solution  of  the  almost  universal  indifference 
with  which  a  great  portion  of  our  race,  Christians,  as  we  pro- 
fess to  be,  listen  to  the  wails  that  reach  them  from  the  wil- 
derness homes  of  these  abused  and  cast-off  people  ?  The 
cry  from  the  forests,  from  the  beginning,  and  that  which  is 
heard  to  this  hour,  and  which  has  never  been  hushed  for 
over  two  hundred  years,  is, "  PROTECT  us — PROTECT  us — 
PITY  AND  SAVE  us !"  But  where  are  the  practical  respon- 
ses that  show  that  this  cry  has  ever  been  properly  regarded  ? 

We  were  now  to  embark,  and  leave  the  theatre  of  our 
negotiations.  The  little  fires  to  which  I  have  referred, 
continued  yet  to  send  up  their  smoke — although  the  ob- 
jects for  which  they  had  been  kindled  had  been  accom- 
plished. TJje  cross-sticks  upon  which  the  kettles  were 
slung,  yet  remained.  The  ground  was  now  at  rest  from 
the  pressure  of  thousands  of  feet ;  the  woods  were  no  lon- 
ger intruded  upon  by  the  confused  sounds  of  Indian  whoop- 
ing and  yelling,  that  had  for  so  many  days  disturbed  and 
awakened  their  echoes ;  and  nothing  was  heard  but  the 
plash  of  the  paddle,  the  beat  of  the  drum,  and  the  shrill 
notes  of  the  fife,  as  our  guard  moved  off  to  the  tune  of 
"  Strike  your  tents  and  march  away."  True,  there  was 
also  the  chanting  of  our  voyagers,  just  under  way,  and  an 
occasional  discharge  of  a  gun.  It  was  amidst  scenes  like 
these  I  left "  Le  Petit  Butte  de  Morts."  As  I  glided  down 
the  current,  catching  now  and  then  a  glimpse  of  the  tree- 
tops,  and  of  the  priest's  towering  pole,  crowned  with  the 
cross,  I  thought  of  the  worship  of  the  Christian  Indians ; 
and  fancied  I  could  hear  the  harmonies  that  had  more  than 
once  soothed  me,  and  which  seemed  so  welcome  even  to 


94  MEMOIRS,  &c.,  &c. 

nature  herself — for  I  was  wont  to  think  the  very  groves 
listened,  as  I  am  sure  the  spirits  did,  that  hovered  invisibly 
over  and  amidst  them — for 

"  Millions  of  spiritual  creatures  walk  the  earth, 
Unseen,  both  when  we  sleep,  and  when  we  wake." 

Other  and  subsequent  despatches  announced  Gene- 
ral Atkinson  to  be  ascending  the  Ouisconsin.  My  com- 
mission having  referred  other  duties  to  me,  I  determined 
to  pass  on ;  so  Governor  Cass  referred  to  me  the  duty  of 
addressing  a  letter  to  Major  Whistler,  urging  him  to  em- 
body a  force  and  proceed  to  the  portage  of  the  Fox  and 
Ouisconsin  rivers,  and  there  join  General  Atkinson.  This 
was  agreed  to,  upon  condition  that  I  would  raise  a  hun- 
dred Indians  to  accompany  the  expedition  as  flankers.  It 
was  done.  Force  enough  was  reserved  to  protect  the  fort, 
and  the  remainder  was  organized,  when  the  ascent  of  the 
Fox  river  was  commenced. 

The  governor,  and  all  of  our  party,  except  myself  and 
servant  Ben,  were  now  off  in  a  steamboat  for  Detroit, 
with  whom  I  was  strongly  urged  to  return.  The  reasons 
assigned  were,  that  I  should  certainly  be  killed  on  the 
way,  there  being  some  hundreds  of  miles  of  war  country 
to  go  through ;  or,  should  I  get  through  alive,  there  was  no 
sort  of  chance  of  my  effecting  anything  with  the  southern 
tribes,  with  whom  it  was  made  my  duty  to  negotiate 
treaties.  There  was  some  force  in  this — since  large  ap- 
propriations had  been  made  by  Congress,  and  expended 
without  effect,  by  the  experienced  Indian  negotiators, 
Generals  Clark,  (Lewis's  fellow  traveller)  Coffee,  and 
Hinds,  whilst  I  was  going  on  a  forlorn  hope,  single-hand- 
ed, with  no  money  to  sustain  and  aid  in  the  success  of  my 
operations.  The  whole  undertaking  was  pronounced  upon 
as  rash.  My  answer  to  the  governor  was,  I  shall  go.  He 
then  sought  to  obtain  my  consent  to  allow  my  son  to  re- 
turn with  him.  This  I  referred  to  the  pleasure  of  my  son. 


MEMOIRS,  &c.,  &c.  95 

The  governor  succeeded  in  obtaining  his  consent  to  re- 
turn to  Washington  by  the  way  of  Detroit,  and  he  did  so ; 
and  myself  and  Ben  were  all  that  remained  of  our  party, 
except  my  trusty  voyagers,  with  my  bark  canoe,  and  my 
clerk  and  interpreter,  the  estimable  Mr.  Kinzie. 

The  expedition  being  ready,  I  despatched  an  express  to 
General  Atkinson,  on  the  supposition  that  he  would  be 
met  by  it  at  the  portage,  which  is  distant  from  Fort  How- 
ard, at  Green  Bay,  some  hundred  and  forty  miles.  The  ob- 
ject of  the  express  was,  to  inform  the  general  that  Major 
Whistler  was  in  motion  to  meet  him. 

The  embarkation  of  the  troops  took  place  on  Tuesday, 
the  23d  of  July,  1827,  at  three  o'clock,  P.  M.  The  force 
consisted  of  one  hundred  and  one  regulars ;  twenty-eight 
militia;  one  hundred  and  twelve  Wabanackies  and  Meno- 
monies  ;  total,  two  hundred  and  ninety,  besides  Rolette,  a 
trader,  connected  with  the  American  Fur  Company,  on 
his  way  to  Prairie  du  Chien,  with  an  outfit,  having  fifty 
men  with  him,  on  whose  co-operation  we  counted,  with 
eight  men  in  a  canoe  that  I  had  provided  for  a  guest  from 
France,  (who  had  brought  letters  of  introduction  from 
Cadwallader  D.  Golden,  of  New  York,)  COUNT  DE  LILLIER, 
and  eleven  of  my  own  men,  including  Mr.  Kinzie  and  Ben ; 
making  an  aggregate  of  three  hundred  and  fifty-nine.  Ro- 
lette had  passed  on,  and  made  the  portage  of  the  Kockalas, 
and  was  progressing,  but  was  stopped  by  an  order  from 
Major  Whistler,  who  apprehended  that  if  he  should  at- 
tempt to  go  through  to  the  Mississippi,  he  might  be  over- 
powered ;  and,  having  some  thirty  thousand  dollars'  worth 
of  supplies  with  him,  including  a  large  number  of  guns  and 
ammunition,  his  capture  would  enable  the  Indians  to  carry 
on  the  war  with  greater  effect,  and  for  a  longer  time. 

The  barges  in  which  the  troops  were  embarked  being 
heavy,  and  their  progress  against  the  current  of  the  Fox 
river  consequently  slow,  whilst  with  my  canoe  I  could 
overhaul  them  at  pleasure,  I  concluded  to  spend  that  even- 


96  MEMOIRS,  &c.,  &c. 

ing  and  the  next  day  with  friends  at  the  fort  and  the  vil- 
lage. I  took  leave  of  all  on  Saturday,  the  25th  July,  and, 
as  was  the  general  belief,  forever.  The  count,  being  full 
of  the  exploring  fever,  started  with  the  military. 

The  climate  of  Green  Bay  is  at  all  times  pleasant,  but 
at  this  season  delightful.  I  was  to  have  overtaken  the 
count  at  the  portage  of  the  Grand  Kockalas  ;  but,  on  my 
arrival  there,  found  he  had  gone  on.  Proceeding  to  the 
little  Kockalas,  about  four  miles  higher  up,  I  encamped. 
Fell  in  with  two  Indians  in  a  canoe,  fed  them,  and  they 
kept  us  company.  Heard  guns  in  the  direction  of  the  fort, 
supposed  it  an  arrival,  as  no  attack  was  likely  to  be  made 
upon  it  by  a  force  that  should  not  first  pass  us.  Heavy 
dew  that  night ;  it  dripped  from  my  tent  like  rain.  I  had, 
without  knowing  it,  pitched  my  camp  within  two  miles  of 
the  military. 

The  morning  broke  in  all  its  beauty.  Never  did  the 
sun  shine  out  with  more  brilliancy  or  loveliness,  and  never 
was  there  a  sweeter  day.  It  was  the  Sabbath — and  here 
seemed  another  proof  that  our  world,  and  those  rolling 
orbs  above  us,  and  the  ethereal,  had  combined  to  impart  a 
more  than  natural  beauty  to  this  day  of  rest,  by  mingling 
with  it  those  softer  and  quieter  influences  that  would  seem 
to  belong  to  its  sanctity.  Such  was  the  Sabbath — the 
26th  July,  1827.  I  had  come  in  about  nine  hours  a  dis- 
tance that  it  had  taken  the  barges  from  three  o'clock  of  the 
evening  of  Thursday,  till  nine  o'clock  of  the  following  Sun- 
day, to  make ;  in  all,  sixty-six  hours.  This,  however,  is  not 
the  usual  disparity  of  speed  between  a  well-manned  canoe 
and  equally  well-manned  barges.  The  portage  of  the 
Kockalas  had  to  be  made,  and  the  heavy  material  of  war, 
with  the  provisions,  &c.,  were  also  to  be  carried  over  it; 
and  the  current  here  is  very  rapid. 

We  passed  Le  Petit  Butte  de  Morts.  The  buildings  we 
had  put  up  for  the  security  and  safe-keeping  of  our  provi- 
sions and  goods,  &c.,  had  been  all  fired  by  the  Indians.  A 


MEMOIRS,  &c.,  &c.  97 

thick  smoke  hung  over  the  ground — the  top  of  the  priest's 
pole  and  cross  being  above  it,  upon  which  the  sun  shone 
in  his  beauty,  contrasting  strongly  with  the  murkiness  of 
all  beneath  and  around  them.  But  there  was  Winnebago 
lake  placid  as  a  mirror,  with  not  a  breeze  to  ruffle  its  sur- 
face, or  disturb  its  repose.  A  few  Indians  near  the  Butte, 
who  had  remained  on  the  ground,  on  recognizing  us,  ran 
to  the  shore,  and  saluted  us  with  their  rifles.  I  found  the 
count  there,  but  in  trouble.  His  canoe  was  not  entirely 
the  thing  I  had  hoped  it  would  prove  to  be,  nor  did  those 
who  were  in  it  know  how  to  manage  it  with  skill,  or  work 
it  with  success.  I  found  him  a  better,  and  provided  him 
additional  and  more  skilful  help. 

On  reaching  the  Grand  Butte  de  Morts,  I  discovered  that 
Rolette  had  broken  Major  Whistler's  orders,  and  gone  on. 
To  avoid  all  the  consequences,  as  well  those  feared  by  Ma- 
jor W.  as  others  that  might  arise  between  the  parties,  for 
this  violation  of  military  law,  I  resolved  to  give  chase.  So 
leaving  a  note  with  an  Indian,  for  Major  Whistler,  informing 
him  of  my  object,  I  proceeded  to  pursue  and  stop  Rolette. 
I  supposed  from  information  given  by  an  Indian,  that  he 
was  about  two  miles  ahead.  This  I  found  to  be  a  mistake. 
The  importance  of  stopping  him  increased  as  he  advanced 
in  the  enemy's  country ;  and  my  anxiety  grew  with  it.  I 
pushed  on,  hoping  to  reach  him  at  an  encampment.  Night 
set  in,  but  no  tidings  of  Rolette.  I  kept  on,  and  continued 
on  all  night,  stopping  neither  to  eat  or  sleep,  except  once 
to  give  the  voyagers  a  half  hour's  nap,  when  I  ordered  the 
bowsman  to  stick  a  pole  down  in  the  river,  tie  the  canoe 
fast  to  it,  and  then  all  hands  to  pull  their  blankets  over 
them,  lean  forward,  and  go  to  sleep.  I  never  knew  an 
order  more  promptly  obeyed.  The  dew  was  again  heavy ; 
it  dripped  like  rain-drops  from  my  umbrella.  In  about 
half  an  hour  I  awakened  the  sleepers,  and  we  proceeded. 
The  morning  came,  but  Rolette  was  not  in  sight.  Land- 
ed at  sun-rise,  and  breakfasted.  Heard  guns  on  our  right. 


98  MEMOIRS,  &c.,  &c. 

Supposed  them  to  indicate  Rolette's  whereabouts.  Kept 
on,  when  at  about  eleven  o'clock,  A.  M.,  in  one  of  the  bends 
of  this  tortuous  river,  and  in  a  broad  part  of  it,  saw  his 
six  barges  with  sails  all  set,  looking  like  a  fleet.  My 
voyagers  set  up  a  chant,  and  within  half  an  hour  I  was  up 
with  him.  I  made  known  the  object  of  my  pursuit,  and 
the  motives  that  had  prompted  me  to  engage  in  it,  re- 
questing him  to  go  ashore.  He  complied  cheerfully — 
when  I  addressed  a  letter  to  Major  Whistler,  stating  our 
position,  and  also  Rolette's  entire  readiness  to  acquiesce  in 
his  views ;  the  reasons  that  had  led  him  to  disobey  the 
order  that  had  been  addressed  to  him,  &c.,  and  despatched 
an  Indian  in  his  light  canoe,  knowing  that  this  down- 
stream message  would  soon  be  in  the  hands  of  Major 
Whistler,  and  that  his  fears,  if  he  had  any,  would  be  put  to 
rest.  I  had  come  from  Le  Grand  Butte  de  Morts,  to 
where  I  overtook  Rolette,  eighty  miles,  against  a  strong 
current. 


MEMOIRS,   &c.,  «fec.  99 


CHAPTER  V. 

EXPEDITION  AGAINST  THE  WINNEBAGOES.      SURRENDER,  RE- 
CEPTION, AND  APPEARANCE    OF  "RED-BIRD." 

Encampment  at  Rush  lake — Windings  of  the  Fox  river — Major  Whistler  and  Ro- 
lette — A  successful  mediation — Remarkable  celestial  phenomenon — An  omen 
— The  snake  and  the  bear- — Ceremony  of  taking  them — A  fine  position  on  the 
Fox  river — Shooting  a  crane — Arrival  at  the  portage — Encampment — Disarm- 
ing and  detention  of  a  party  of  Winnebagoes — Object  of  the  expedition — In- 
dian diplomacy — Surrender  of  the  murderers — Heroism  of  the  act — Their  arri- 
val and  reception — Noble  appearance  and  dignified  deportment  of  "  RED-BIRD" 
— Solicitude  of  his  people  for  him — His  brief  talk — Miserable  appearance  of 
WE-KAU,  his  accomplice — Mode  of  catching  the  rattle-snake — Preventive 
against  his  bite — Portage  to  the  Ouisconsin. 

OUR  first  business  was  to  select  a  suitable  position  for  an 
encampment.  The  grounds  opposite  the  place  of  our 
meeting  presenting,  on  neither  side  of  the  river,  a  favor- 
able one,  we  continued  five  miles  further  on,  and  at 
noon  encamped  on  the  north-western  shore  of  Rush  lake. 
From  this  place,  we  were  not  over  three  miles,  in  a  straight 
line,  from  the  portage  of  the  Fox  and  Ouisconsin  rivers, 
and  yet,  such  are  the  windings  of  Fox  river,  we  were  des- 
tined to  go  at  least  twenty  miles  before  we  could  reach  it. 

At  night  we  set  a  guard  of  twelve  men,  and  ordered  all 
hands  to  have  their  arms  ready.  We  were  not  long  in 
camp  before  four  Winnebagoes  came  in,  offering  to  sell 
squashes.  I  directed  them  to  be  detained.  At  nine  o'clock 
the  next  morning  the  count  arrived,  well,  and  glad  to  see 
us.  The  military  did  not  get  up  till  August  31st — two 
days  after  the  count,  and  three  days  after  my  arrival. 
Meantime,  six  squaws  came  in  with  potatoes  and  squashes. 
Bought  them,  and  let  the  squaws  pass  on.  The  next  day, 


100  MEMOIRS,  &c.,  &c. 

five  Indians  arrived,  with  their  faces  painted  black.  They 
had  been  in  battle,  and  had  lost  friends,  and  were  in  mourn- 
ing, after  this  their  fashion,  for  them.  Took  them  in 
charge,  and  examined  them.  Finding  they  were  not  of  the 
party  who  had  committed  the  murder  at  Prairie  du  Chien, 
gave  orders  for  them  to  pass. 

The  arrival  of  the  military  on  the  31st,  brought  Major 
Whistler  and  Rolette  together,  and  myself  as  mediator. 
My  letter  to  the  major,  by  the  Indian,  had  been  received, 
but  his  dander  was  up,  as  Major  Jack  Downing  would  say, 
and  required  something  additional,  of  the  soothing  sort,  to 
lay  it.  I  had,  on  going  ashore  with  Rolette,  obtained  of 
him  guns  and  ammunition  for  our  hitherto  unarmed  one 
hundred  and  twelve  Indians,  for  which  I  gave  a  receipt, 
and  the  obligation  either  to  return  them  as  they  were,  or 
pay  damages,  or  the  price  of  the  guns.  I  made  use  of  this 
facility,  and  the  cordial  manner  in  which  Rolette  had  assent- 
ed to  supply  the  arms,  in  connexion  with  the  fact  that  he 
had  not  disregarded  Major  Whistler's  injunction  from  any 
want  of  respect  either  for  it,  or  for  the  commanding  officer ; 
and  was  happy  to  see  harmony  restored,  and  a  mutual  in- 
tercourse of  friendly  civilities  forthwith  take  place. 

A  party  of  our  Indians  who  were  strolling  about,  had 
captured  a  rattle-snake,  and  found  a  fine  bear  in  a  trap.  I 
had  been  in  trouble  with  this  part  of  our  force,  and  feared 
we  should  lose  it.  Matters  of  fact  with  the  civilized  and 
enlightened,  are  made  of  no  more  stubborn  materials,  and 
have  no  more  effect  on  the  white  man,  and  sometimes,  in- 
deed, not  so  much,  as  has  superstition  on  the  untutored 
Indian,  in  forming  his  purpose,  and  fixing  his  resolves.  It 
was  about  this  time  that  the  heavens  presented  a  remark- 
able phenomenon,  in  a  belt  of  pure  white,  which  crossed 
them  from  horizon  to  horizon.  Its  direction  was  across 
the  line  of  our  movements.  This,  the  Indians,  after  con- 
sultation, had  interpreted  into  a  bad  omen,  and  looked  upon 
it  as  a  barrier  put  across  their  path  by  the  Great  Spirit,  in 


MEMOIRS,  &c.,  &c.  101 

which  they  read  his  order,  forbidding  them  to  pass.  It 
was  in  vain  that  I  attempted  to  reason  with  them  on  the 
subject.  There  was  the  line  of  light,  and  they  had  seen 
it ;  its  direction  lay  across  the  path  of  our  movements,  and 
that  was  clear,  and  what  else  could  it  mean,  but  a  com- 
mand to  stop,  and  go  no  further  ?  They  augured  evil  re- 
sults, also,  upon  those  who  should  be  so  rash  as  to  disre- 
gard this  celestial  omen.  But  when  the  party  that  had 
taken  the  rattle-snake  and  bear  came  in,  all  this  reasoning, 
and  all  these  conclusions,  fell  to  pieces,  like  the  diamond 
lustre  of  the  ice-fringed  forest,  when  the  sun  pours  upon  it 
his  light  and  heat.  They  were  looked  upon  as  messengers 
that  had  been  sent  from  the  land  of  souls,  revoking  the 
order  of  the  Great  Spirit,  as  read  in  the  belt  of  white ; 
and,  as  by  this  time  the  white  belt  had  become  well-nigh 
blended  with  the  ethereal,  it  was  found  to  be  no  difficult 
matter  to  believe  that  the  command  was  revoked,  and  per- 
mission granted  them  to  proceed. 

The  ceremony  of  taking  the  snake  and  the  bear,  under 
these  circumstances,  was  as  follows :  He  who  had  first 
discovered  the  snake,  made  the  usual  signal  that  he  had 
found  one.  This  secured  it  as  his  property ;  when  he  ad- 
dressed it  thus :  "  You  are  welcome,  friend,  from  the 
spirit-land.  We  were  in  trouble ;  our  friends  there  knew 
it.  The  Great  Spirit  knew  it.  You  are  come  to  bring  us 
rest.  We  know  what  your  message  is.  Take  this  offer- 
ing of  tobacco ;" — taking  a  pinch  of  fragments  from  his 
pouch,  and  rubbing  them  to  powder  between  his  finger  and 
thumb,  he  sprinkled  it  on  the  snake's  head — "  it  will  make 
you  feel  strong  after  your  long  journey."  Then  reaching 
well  down  towards  the  tail,  he  ran  his  finger  and  thumb  up 
the  back  of  the  snake,  till  they  reached  the  neck,  when,  with 
a  quick  compression,  he  rose  with  the  snake  well  secured, 
and  giving  it  a  jerk,  broke  every  vertebra  in  the  process. 
The  head  was  instantly  opened,  the  fangs  carefully  taken 
out,  the  skin  taken  off,  and  the  body  being  quickly  cut  up 


102  MEMOIRS,   &c.,  &c. 

into  small  pieces,  was  distributed  to  the  Indians  for  their 
medicine-bags — thus  furnishing  a  new  antidote  against  evil 
agencies,  should  any  happen,  during  the  remainder  of  their 
march.  The  skin  of  the  snake  was  seen  in  a  few  minutes 
after  his  capture,  fastened  by  a  root  of  the  red  cedar,  called 
wattap,  to  a  lock  of  the  captor's  hair,  the  tail  reaching 
down  his  back,  and  nearly  to  the  ground.  This  was  a 
proud  trophy. 

While  this  snake  capture,  and  what  followed  it,  was  going 
on,  the  bear  was  being  disposed  of.  He  who  had  made 
the  discovery  of  the  entrapped  Bruin,  set  up  his  claim,  in 
like  manner,  by  announcing  more  formally  his  discovery  of 
the  prize.  The  bear  was  also  addressed  in  terms  of  con- 
gratulation, in  which  he  was  told  that  his  visit  was  one  of 
great  interest.  He  was  questioned  as  to  the  condition  of 
the  departed  whose  spirits  he  had  left  upon  this  his  errand 
of  love,  and  then  told  that  he  would  soon  have  .the  pleas- 
ure of  going  back  to  them  with  messages  ;  that  if  the 
manner  of  sending  him  there  should  be  harsh,  he  must 
blame  the  white  man  for  it,  since  it  was  at  his  call  they 
had  left  their  squaws  and  papooses  to  come  into  that  coun- 
try, &c.,  &c. ;  so  calling  to  him  a  couple  of  his  friends,  he 
gave  the  order  to  fire,  at  the  same  time  pulling  the  trigger 
of  his  own  rifle,  when  Bruin,  receiving  three  balls,  fell  and 
died.  He  was  soon  released  from  the  trap,  skinned,  quar- 
tered, cut  up,  and  over  the  fires,  in  kettles,  simmering 
away,  preparatory  to  a  feast,  in  which  all  joined.  The 
obstacle  to  their  march  being  now  so  clearly  removed,  and 
by  the  agency  of  friends  from  the  spirit-land,  and  the  Great 
Spirit  himself,  they  announced  their  readiness  to  march  on. 

Broke  up  our  encampment,  and  continued  the  ascent  of 
this  tortuous  river.  The  count  and  myself,  in  our  canoes, 
making  the  distance  which  I  supposed  the  military  would 
make,  we  encamped.  The  evening  brought  them  up,  when, 
for  the  first  time  since  leaving  Fort  Howard,  at  Green  Bay, 
we  were  all  together  for  a  night.  Our  position  was  a  fine 


MEMOIRS,   &c.,  &c.  103 

one.  The  bank  of  the  river,  of  some  ten  feet  elevation, 
was  abrupt,  and  its  base  was  washed  by  the  waters.  A 
fine  level  piece  of  ground  stretched  back  of  it,  fringed  in 
the  rear  with  thick  woods.  Our  tents  were  in  a  line,  near 
these.  In  front,  and  between  the  line  of  tents  and  the 
river,  and  for  a  quarter  of  a  mile,  the  level  of  the  ground, 
and  its  freedom  from  undergrowth,  were  such  as  to  give  it 
the  appearance  of  a  parade-ground.  Just  before  sun-down, 
a  large  crane  was  seen  coming  up  at  the  slow  rate  which 
characterizes  the  flight  of  this  bird.  The  line  of  its  course 
being  such,  as  to  both  height  and  distance,  as  to  make 
quite  a  mark  for  a  trial  of  skill  of  all  hands,  the  thought 
seemed  spontaneous,  and  in  a  moment  every  man  with  his 
gun  was  in  line,  on  the  edge  of  the  river  bank,  at  open  or- 
der. The  lazily  moving  crane,  flapping  slowly  his  enor- 
mous wings,  arriving  opposite  the  first  man  on  the  right, 
he  aimed  and  fired ;  and  so  on,  down  the  whole  line,  each 
man  fired,  but  all  missing  the  bird,  which  seemed  as  un- 
conscious of  the  peril  of  its  situation,  as  though  not  a  gun 
had  been  within  a  mile  of  it.  Indeed,  so  perfectly  insensi- 
ble was  it,  as  to  convey  the  idea  that  the  thing  was  asleep. 
The  count  was  on  the  left,  the  last  man  in  the  line,  with  a 
double-barrelled  shot-gun ;  so,  it  coming  to  his  turn,  he  fired, 
first  one  barrel,  and  then  the  other,  both  taking  effect ; 
when  the  sluggish  bird's  long  neck  became  pendent,  and 
his  legs  losing  their  horizontal  position,  fell  into  the  per- 
pendicular, the  whole  coming  over,  and  over,  to  the  river ; 
which  reaching,  and  even  before  it  touched  the  water,  I 
don't  know  how  many  Indians  were  off  this  ten  feet  bank, 
head  foremost,  after  the  prize.  The  one  who  had  kept 
under  water  longest,  coming  up  nearer  the  bird  than  the 
rest,  seized  his  prey,  and  holding  it  up  in  one  hand,  out  of 
the  water,  swam  back  to  the  shore,  amidst  the  greetings 
and  shouts  of  the  whole  company.  His  title  to  the  crane 
was  fixed,  by  Indian  law.  No  matter  who  kills,  the  first 
to  reach  the  game  is  owner  of  it. 


104  MEMOIRS,  &c.,  &c. 

Major  Whistler  embarked  the  next  morning  at  day- 
break. My  inclination  led  me  to  repose.  I  slept  on, 
knowing  I  could  overtake  him,  which  I  did  at  ten  o'clock. 
The  river  now  began  to  give  signs  that  we  were  near  the 
portage.  Savannas  of  wild  rice  grew  out  of  it  in  all  di- 
rections, leaving  a  channel  so  narrow  as  to  scarcely  admit 
a  barge,  while  its  turns  are  so  short  as  to  make  it  difficult 
to  follow  their  windings,  except  in  a  very  short  canoe. 
Ducks,  pigeons,  and  blackbirds,  numerous. 

At  four  o'clock,  P.  M.,  of  September  1st,  1827,  arrived 
at  the  portage,  and  encamped  on  a  high  bluff  which  over- 
looks the  country  for  a  great  distance,  to  the  south  and 
west.  We  had  not  finished  the  business  of  encamping, 
before  seven  Winnebago  warriors  came  along,  on  their 
way  from  Green  Isle  to  the  four  lakes,  fully  armed  and 
equipped.  It  was  a  direction  in  which  we  did  not  desire 
any  of  that  sort  of  force  to  go,  the  enemy  being  at  the 
four  lakes  in  great  numbers.  Major  Whistler  gave  orders 
to  disarm  and  detain  them.  They  were  told  they  should 
be  fed  well,  and  treated  well,  whilst  they  behaved  them- 
selves. They  appeared  to  feel  deeply,  when  their  arms 
were  taken  from  them ;  nor  did  they  appear  to  like  the 
strength  and  appearance  of  the  military.  An  express  ar- 
rived from  General  Atkinson,  announcing  his  approach, 
and  directing  Major  W.  to  halt  and  fortify  himself  at  the 
portage,  and  wait  his  arrival,  as  the  capture  of  the  enemy 
could  be  made  with  his  additional  force,  with  more  ease, 
and  less  sacrifice  of  life. 

The  object  of  the  joint  expedition  of  General  Atkinson 
from  Jefferson  Barracks,  below  St.  Louis,  and  of  Major 
Whistler  from  Fort  Howard,  on  Green  Bay,  was,  as  has 
been  intimated,  to  capture  those  who  had  committed  the 
murders  at  Prairie  du  Chien,  and  put  a  stop  to  any  further 
aggressions  of  the  sort.  The  Winnebagoes,  it  will  be  re- 
membered, had  been  advised,  prior  to  the  opening  of  the 
council  at  Le  Butte  de  Morts,  that  the  security  of  their 


MEMOIRS,  &c.,  &c.  105 

people  lay  in  a  surrender  of  the  murderers.  The  first  in- 
timation that  this  primary  object  would  be  accomplished, 
was  given  the  day  after  our  arrival  at  the  portage,  in  a 
very  mysterious  way.  I  was  sitting  at  the  door  of  my 
tent,  when  an  Indian  of  common  appearance,  with  nothing 
over  him  but  a  blanket,  came  up  to  the  bluff,  and  walking 
to  the  tent,  seated  himself  upon  his  haunches  beside  it. 
This  was  almost  the  middle  of  the  day.  I  inquired 
through  the  interpreter,  what  was  the  object  of  his  visit. 
After  musing  awhile,  he  said — "  Do  not  strike — when  the 
sun  is  there  to  morrow" — looking  up,  and  pointing  to  about 
three  o'clock,  P.  M. — "  they  will  come  in."  Who  will  come 
in  ?  I  asked.  "  Red-Bird  and  We-kau,"  he  answered. 
The  moment  he  gave  the  answer,  he  rose,  wrapped  his 
blanket  about  him,  and  with  hurried  step  returned  by  the 
way  he  had  come.  At  about  three  o'clock  of  the  same 
day,  another  Indian  came  and  took  his  position  in  nearly 
the  same  place,  and  in  the  same  way,  when,  to  like  ques- 
tions, he  gave  like  answers  ;  and  at  sun-down  a  third  came, 
confirming  what  the  other  two  had  said,  with  the  addition 
that  he  had,  to  secure  that  object,  given  to  the  families  of 
the  murderers  nearly  all  of  his  property.  There  appear- 
ed to  me  to  be  two  objects  in  view  by  this  Indian  mode 
of  managing  the  art  diplomatique.  One  was,  to-  prevent 
an  attack,  which  our  near  neighborhood  to  the  point  where 
the  Indian  force  was  concentred,  led  them  to  apprehend ; 
the  other,  to  say  all  cause  for  an  attack  was,  as  they 
viewed  it,  removed  by  the  treble  assurance  given,  that 
the  murderers  will,  and  at  a  time  specified,  be  brought  in. 
There  could  be  nothing  more  to  the  purpose. 

There  was,  as  I  have  said  on  a  previous  occasion,  when 
referring  to  the  subject  of  this  voluntary  surrender,  some- 
thing heroic  in  it.  The  giving  away  of  property  to  the  fami- 
lies of  the  guilty  parties,  had  nothing  to  do  with  their  deter- 
mination to  devote  themselves  for  the  good  of  their  people, 
but  only  to  reconcile  those  who  were  about  to  be  bereaved  to 

VOL.   I.  14 


106  MEMOIRS,  &c.,  &c. 

the  dreadful  expedient.  The  heroism  of  the  purpose  is  seen 
in  the  fact,  that  the  murders  committed  at  Prairie  du  Chien 
were  not  wanton,  but  in  retaliation  for  wrongs  committed 
upon  this  people  by  the  whites.  The  parties  murdered  at 
the  Prairie,  were  doubtless  innocent  of  the  wrongs  and 
outrages  of  which  the  Indians  complained,  but  the  law  of 
Indian  retaliation  does  not  require  that  he  alone,  who  com- 
mits a  wrong,  shall  suffer  for  it.  One  scalp  is  held  to  be 
due  for  another,  no  matter  from  whose  head  it  is  taken, 
provided  it  be  torn  from  the  crown  of  the  family,  or  peo- 
ple, who  have  made  a  resort  to  this  law  necessary.  If 
these  Indians  had  multiplied  their  victims  to  ten  times  the 
number  slain  by  them  at  the  Prairie,  it  is  highly  probable 
the  balance  of  suffering  and  of  blood  would  have  been 
greatly  on  the  side  of  the  Indians — and  yet  we  find,  under 
such  circumstances,  a  readiness  on  the  part  of  the  mur- 
derers, rather  than  have  "  a  road  cut  through  their  coun- 
try with  guns,"  which  would  subject  the  innocent  to  both 
affliction  and  death,  to  make  a  voluntary  surrender  of  them- 
selves ! 

At  about  noon  of  the  day  following,  there  were  seen 
descending  a  mound  on  the  portage,  a  body  of  Indians — 
some  were  mounted,  and  some  were  on  foot.  By  the  aid 
of  a  glass,  we  could  discern  the  direction  to  be  towards  our 
position,  and  that  three  flags  were  borne  by  them — two, 
(one  in  front  and  one  in  rear,)  were  American,  and  one  in 
the  centre  was  white.  They  bore  no  arms.  We  were  at 
no  loss  to  understand  that  the  promise  made  by  the  three 
Indians,  the  day  before,  was  about  to  be  fulfilled.  In  the 
course  of  half  an  hour,  they  had  approached  within  a  short 
distance  of  the  crossing  of  the  Fox  river,  when,  on  a  sud- 
den, we  heard  singing.  Those  who  were  familiar  with  the 
air,  said — "  it  is  a  death  song  /"  When  still  nearer,  some 
present  who  knew  him,  said,  "  it  is  the  Red-Bird  sing- 
ing his  death  song"  The  moment  a  halt  was  made  on  the 


MEMOIRS,  &c.,  &c.  107 

margin  of  the  river,  preparatory  to  crossing  over,  two 
scalp  yells  were  heard. 

The  Menomonies,  and  other  Indians  who  had  accompa- 
nied us,  were  lying  carelessly  about  upon  the  ground,  re- 
gardless of  what  was  going  on,  but  the  moment  the  "  scalp 
yells"  were  uttered,  they  sprang  as  one  man  to  their  feet, 
seized  their  rifles,  and  were  ready  for  battle.  They  were 
at  no  loss  to  know  that  the  yells  were  "  scalp  yells ;"  but 
had  not  heard  with  sufficient  accuracy  to  decide  whether 
they  indicated  scalps  to  be  taken  or  given  ;  but,  doubtless, 
they  inferred  the  first. 

Barges  were  sent  across  to  receive,  and  an  escort  of  the 
military  to  accompany  them  within  our  lines.  The  white 
flag  which  had  been  seen  in  the  distance,  was  born  by  the 
Red-Bird.  During  the  crossing,  a  rattle-snake  passed  me, 
and  was  struck  by  Captain  D.,  with  his  sword,  and  partly 
disabled,  when  I  ran  mine  through  his  neck,  and  holding 
up  the  slain  reptile,  a  Menomonie  Indian  cut  off  his  head 
with  his  knife.  The  head  was  burned,  to  keep  the  fangs 
from  doing  injury  by  being  trodden  upon,  and  his  body  cut 
up,  after  the  fashion  of  the  one  previously  spoken  of,  and 
disposed  of  in  the  same  way.  This  was  looked  upon  as 
another  good  omen  by  the  Indians. 

And  now,  the  advance  of  the  Indians  had  reached  half 
up  the  ascent  of  the  bluff,  on  which  was  our  encampment. 
In  the  lead  was  CARIMINIE,  a  distinguished  chief.  Arri- 
ving on  the  level,  upon  which  was  our  encampment,  and 
order  being  called,  Cariminie  spoke,  saying — "  They  are 
here — like  braves  they  have  come  in — treat  them  as 
braves — do  not  put  them  in  irons."  This  address  was 
made  to  me.  I  told  him  I  was  not  the  big  captain.  His 
talk  must  be  made  to  Major  Whistler,  who  would,  I  had  no 
doubt,  do  what  was  right.  Mr.  Marsh,  the  sub-agent,  being 
there,  an  advance  was  made  to  him,  and  a  hope  expressed 
that  the  prisoners  might  be  turned  over  to  him.  There  was 
an  evident  aversion  to  their  being  given  up  to  the  military. 


108  MEMOIRS,   &c.,  &c. 

I  told  him  Mr.  Marsh  should  be  with  the  prisoners,  which 
composed  them.  For  the  remainder  of  the  incidentSj  I 
must  resort  to  a  letter  which  I  addressed  to  the  flon. 
James  Barbour,  Secretary  of  War,  giving  an  account  of  this 
most  imposing,  and  by  me  never-to-be-forgotten  ceremony. 

"The  military  had  been  previously  drawn  out  in  line. 
The  Menomonie  and  Wabanackie  Indians  were  in  groups 
upon  their  haunches,  on  our  left  flank.  On  the  right,  was 
the  band  of  music,  a  little  in  advance  of  the  line.  In  front 
of  the  centre,  at  about  ten  paces  distant,  were  the  murder- 
ers. On  their  right  and  left,  were  those  who  had  accom- 
panied them,  forming  a  semi-circle,  the  magnificent  Red- 
Bird,  and  the  miserable  looking  We-kau,  a  little  in  ad- 
vance of  the  centre.  All  eyes  were  fixed  upon  the  Red- 
Bird  ;  and  well  they  might  be — for  of  all  the  Indians  I 
ever  saw,  he  is,  without  exception,  the  most  perfect  in 
form,  in  face,  and  gesture.  In  height,  he  is  about  six  feet ; 
straight,  but  without  restraint.  His  proportions  are  those 
of  the  most  exact  symmetry,  and  these  embrace  the  entire 
man,  from  his  head  to  his  feet.  His  very  fingers  are  mo- 
dels of  beauty.  I  have  never  beheld  a  face  that  was  so 
full  of  all  the  ennobling,  and  at  the  same  time  the  most 
winning  expression.  It  were  impossible  to  combine  with 
such  a  face  the  thought  that  he  who  wore  it,  could  be  a 
murderer  !  It  appears  to  be  a  compound  of  grace  and 
dignity ;  of  firmness  and  decision,  all  tempered  with  mild- 
ness and  mercy.  During  my  attempted  analysis  of  this 
face,  I  could  not  but  ask  myself,  can  this  man  be  a  mur- 
derer? Is  he  the  same  who  shot,  scalped,  and  c.ut  the 
throat  of  Gagnier  ?  His  head,  too — sure  no  head  was 
ever  so  well  formed.  There  was  no  ornamenting  of  the  hair, 
after  the  Indian  fashion  ;  no  clubbing  it  up  in  blocks  and 
rollers  of  lead,  or  bands  of  silver  ;  no  loose  or  straggling 
parts — but  it  was  cut  after  the  best  fashion  of  the  most 
civilized. 

His  face  was  painted,  one  side  red,  the  other  intermixed 


MEMOIRS,   &c.,  &c.  109 

with  green  and  white.  Around  his  neck  he  wore  a  collar 
of  blue  wampum,  beautifully  mixed  with  white,  which  was 
sewn  on  to  a  piece  of  cloth,  the  width  of  the  wampum 
being  about  two  inches — whilst  the  claws  of  the  panther, 
or  wild-cat,  distant  from  each  other  about  a  quarter  of 
an  inch,  with  their  points  inward,  formed  the  rim  of  the 
collar.  Around  his  neck  were  hanging  strands  of  wam- 
pum of  various  lengths,  the  circles  enlarging  as  they  de- 
scended. He  was  clothed  in  a  yankton  dress — new  and 
beautiful.  The  material  is  of  dressed  elk,  or  deer-skin, 
almost  a  pure  white.  It  consists  of  a  jacket,  the  sleeves 
being  cut  to  fit  his  finely  formed  arm,  and  so  as  to  leave 
outside  of  the  seam  that  ran  from  the  shoulder,  back  of 
the  arm,  and  along  over  the  elbow,  about  six  inches 
of  the  material,  one-half  of  which  was  cut  into  fringe; 
the  same  kind  of  fringe  ornamenting  the  collar  of  the 
jacket,  its  sides,  bosom,  and  termination,  which  was  not 
circular,  but  cut  in  points  ;  and  which  also  ran  down  the 
seams  of  his  leggins,  these  being  made  of  the  same  mate- 
rial. Blue  beads  were  employed  to  vary  and  enrich  the 
fringe  of  the  leggins.  On  his  feet  he  wore  moccasins. 

"  A  piece  of  scarlet  cloth  of  about  a  quarter  of  a  yard 
deep,  and  double  that  width,  a  slit  being  cut  in  its  middle, 
so  as  to  admit  the  passing  through  of  his  head,  rested, 
one-half  on  his  breast,  (and  beneath  the  necklace  of  wam- 
pum and  claws,)  and  the  other  on  his  back.  On  one 
shoulder,  and  near  his  breast,  was  a  beautifully  ornamented 
feather,  nearly  white;  and  about  opposite,  on  the  other 
shoulder,  was  another  feather,  nearly  black,  near  which 
were  two  pieces  of  thinly  shaven  wood  in  the  form  of 
compasses,  a  little  open,  each  about  six  inches  long,  richly 
wrapped  round  with  porcupine's  quills,  dyed  yellow,  red, 
and  blue.  On  the  tip  of  one  shoulder  was  a  tuft  of  horse- 
hair, dyed  red,  and  a  little  curled,  mixed  up  with  orna- 
ments. Across  his  breast,  in  a  diagonal  position,  and 


110  MEMOIRS,  &c.,  &c. 

bound  tight  to  it,  was  his  war-pipe,  at  least  three  feet  long, 
brightly  ornamented  with  dyed  horse-hair,  the  feathers 
and  bills  of  birds.  In  one  of  his  hands  he  held  the  white 
flag,  and  in  the  other  the  calumet,  or  pipe  of  peace. 

"  There  he  stood.  Not  a  muscle  moved,  nor  was  the  ex- 
pression of  his  face  changed  a  particle.  He  appeared  to  be 
conscious  that,  according  to  Indian  law,  and  measuring  the 
deed  he  had  committed  by  the  injustice,  and  wrongs,  and 
cruelties  of  the  white  man,  he  had  done  no  wrong.  The 
light  which  had  shone  in  upon  his  bosom  from  the  law 
which  demanded  an  eye  for  an  eye,  and  a  tooth  for  a  tooth, 
so  harmonized  with  his  conscience,  as  to  secure  its  repose. 
As  to  death,  he  had  been  taught  to  despise  it,  confiding  in 
that  heaven,  that  spirit-land,  where  the  game  is  always 
plenty — the  forests  always  green — the  waters  always  trans- 
parent, tranquil,  and  pure — and  where  no  evil  thing  is  per- 
mitted to  enter.  He  was  there,  prepared  to  receive  the  blow 
that  should  consign  his  body  to  the  ground,  and  send  his 
spirit  to  that  blissful  region,  to  mingle  with  his  fathers  who 
had  gone  before  him. 

"  He  and  We-kau  were  told  to  sit  down.  His  motions, 
as  he  seated  himself,  were  no  less  graceful  and  captivating, 
than  when  he  stood  or  walked.  At  this  moment  the  band 
struck  up  Pleyel's  Hymn.  Everything  was  still.  It  was 
indeed  a  moment  of  intense  interest  to  all.  The  Red-Bird 
turned  his  eyes  towards  the  band ;  the  tones  operated  upon 
his  feelings  in  such  a  way  as  to  produce  in  his  countenance 
a  corresponding  pensiveness.  The  music  having  ceased, 
he  took  up  his  pouch,  (which  I  forgot  to  say  was  a  hand- 
somely ornamented  otter-skin,  that  hung  on  his  left  side,) 
and  taking  from  it  some  kinnakinic  and  tobacco,  cut  the 
latter  in  the  palm  of  his  hand,  after  the  Indian  fashion, 
then  rubbing  the  two  together,  filled  the  bowl  of  his  calu- 
met, struck  fire  into  a  bit  of  spunk  with  his  flint  and  steel, 
and  lighted  it,  and  smoked.  All  the  motions  employed  in 
this  ceremony  were  no  less  harmonious  and  appropriate, 


MEMOIRS,  dec.,  &c.  HI 

than  had  characterized  his  other  movements.  He  sat  after 
the  Turkish  fashion,  with  his  legs  crossed. 

"  If  you  think  there  was  anything  of  affectation  in  all  this, 
you  are  mistaken.  There  was  just  the  manner,  and  ap- 
pearance, and  look,  you  would  expect  to  see  in  a  nobly 
built  man  of  the  highest  order  of  intelligence,  and  who  had 
been  taught  all  the  graces  of  motion,  and  then  escorted  by 
his  armies  to  a  throne,  where  the  diadem  was  to  be  placed 
upon  his  head. 

"  There  is  but  one  opinion  of  the  man,  and  that  I  have 
attempted  to  convey  to  you.  I  could  not  refrain  from 
speculating  on  his  dress.  His  white  jacket,  having  upon  it 
but  a  single  piece  of  red,  appeared  to  indicate  the  purity 
of  his  past  life,  which  had  been  stained  by  only  a  single 
crime ;  for  all  agree  that  the  Red-Bird  had  never  before 
soiled  his  fingers  with  the  blood  of  the  white  man,  or  com- 
mitted a  bad  action.  His  war-pipe,  bound  close  to  his  heart, 
seemed  to  indicate  his  love  of  war,  in  common  with  his 
race,  which  was  no  longer  to  be  gratified.  The  red  cloth, 
however,  may  have  been  indicative  of  his  name. 

"  All  sat,  except  the  speakers.  The  substance  of  what 
they  said  was — We  were  required  to  bring  in  the  murder- 
ers. They  had  no  power  over  any,  except  two — the  third 
had  gone  away — and  these  had  voluntarily  agreed  to  come 
in,  and  give  themselves  up.  As  their  friends,  they  had 
come  with  them.  They  hoped  their  white  brothers  would 
agree  to  accept  the  horses — of  which  there  were,  perhaps, 
twenty — the  meaning  of  which  was,  to  take  them  in  com- 
mutation for  the  lives  of  their  two  friends.  They  asked 
kind  treatment  for  their  friends,  and  earnestly  besought 
that  they  might  not  be  put  in  irons — and  concluded  by  ask- 
ing for  a  little  tobacco,  and  something  to  eat. 

"They  were  answered,  and  told,  in  substance,  that  they 
had  done  well  thus  to  come  in.  By  having  done  so,  they 
had  turned  away  our  guns,  and  saved  their  people.  They 
were  admonished  against  placing  themselves  in  a  like  sit- 


112  MEMOIRS,  &c.,  &c. 

uation  in  the  future,  and  advised,  when  they  were  ag- 
grieved, not  to  resort  to  violence,  but  to  go  to  their  agent, 
who  would  inform  their  Great  Father  of  their  complaints, 
and  he  would  redress  their  grievances ;  that  their  friends 
should  be  treated  kindly,  and  tried  by  the  same  laws  by 
which  their  Great  Father's  white  children  were  tried ;  that 
for  the  present,  Red-Bird  and  We-kau  should  not  be  put 
in  irons ;  that  they  should  all  have  something  to  eat,  and 
tobacco  to  smoke.  We  advised  them  to  warn  their  people 
against  killing  ours ;  and  endeavored,  also,  to  impress  them 
with  a  proper  notion  of  their  own  weakness,  and  the  ex- 
tent of  our  power,  &c. 

"  Having  heard  this,  the  Red-Bird  stood  up — the  com- 
manding officer,  Major  Whistler,  a  few  paces  in  front  of 
the  centre  of  the  line,  facing  him.  After  a  moment's 
pause,  and  a  quick  survey  of  the  troops,  and  with  a  com- 
posed observation  of  his  people,  he  spoke,  looking  at  Ma- 
jor Whistler,  saying,  '/  am  ready?  Then  advancing  a 
step  or  two,  he  paused,  saying,  '  I  do  not  wish  to  be  put 
in  irons.  Let  me  be  free.  I  have  given  away  my  life — it 
is  gone — (stooping  and  taking  some  dust  between  his  fin- 
ger and  thumb,  and  blowing  it  away) — like  that' — eyeing 
the  dust  as  it  fell,  and  vanished  from  his  sight,  then  adding 
— '  I  would  not  take  it  back.  It  is  gone.'  Having  thus 
spoken,  he  threw  his  hands  behind  him,  to  indicate  that  he 
was  leaving  all  things  behind  him,  and  marched  briskly  up 
to  Major  Whistler,  breast  to  breast.  A  platoon  was 
wheeled  backwards  from  the  centre  of  the  line,  when  Major 
Whistler  stepping  aside,  the  Red-Bird  and  We-kau  marched 
through  the  line,  in  charge  of  a  file  of  men,  to  a  tent  that 
had  been  provided  for  them  in  the  rear,  where  a  guard  was 
set  over  them.  The  comrades  of  the  two  captives  then 
left  the  ground  by  the  way  they  had  come,  taking  with 
them  our  advice,  and  a  supply  of  meat  and  flour,  and  to- 
bacco. 

"  We-kau,  the  miserable-looking  being,  the  accomplice 


MEMOIRS,  &c.,  &c.  113 

of  the  Red-Bird,  was  in  all  things  the  opposite  of  that  un- 
fortunate brave.  Never,  before,  were  there  two  human 
beings  so  exactly,  in  all  things,  so  unlike  one  another.  The 
one  seemed  a  prince,  and  as  if  born  to  command,  and  wor- 
thy to  be  obeyed ;  the  other,  as  if  he  had  been  born  to  be 
hanged.  Meagre — cold — dirty  in  his  person  and  dress, 
crooked  in  form — like  the  starved  wolf,  gaunt,  hungry,  and 
blood-thirsty — his  entire  appearance  indicating  the  presence 
of  a  spirit  wary,  cruel  and  treacherous.  The  heart,  at  sight 
of  this,  was  almost  steeled  against  sympathy,  and  barred 
against  the  admission  of  pity.  This  is  the  man  who  could 
scalp  a  child,  not  eleven  months  old,  and  in  taking  off  its 
fine  locks  as  a  trophy,  and  to  exhibit  as  a  scalp,  cut  the 
back  of  its  neck  to  the  bone,  and  leave  it  to  languish  and 
die  on  the  floor,  near  the  body  of  its  murdered  father ! 
But  his  hands,  and  crooked  and  miserable-looking  fingers, 
had  been  accustomed  to  such  bloody  work  before. 

"  The  Red-Bird  did  not  appear  to  be  over  thirty  years 
old,  and  yet  he  is  said  to  be  past  forty.  We-kau  looks  to 
be  forty-five,  and  is  no  doubt  as  old  as  that.  I  shall  see, 
on  my  arrival  at  Prairie  du  Chien,  the  scene  of  these 
butcheries ;  and,  as  I  may  write  you  upon  all  matters  con- 
nected with  my  tour,  I  will  introduce  you  to  that.  The 
child,  I  forgot  to  say,  by  the  latest  accounts,  yet  lives,  and 
promises  to  survive.  The  widow  of  Gagnier  is  also  there, 
and  I  shall  get  the  whole  story  from  her  mouth,  and  shall 
then,  doubtless,  get  it  truly.  You  shall  have  it  all,  and  a 
thousand  things  beside,  that,  when  I  left  home,  I  never  ex- 
pected to  realize ;  but  having  once  entered  upon  the  scenes  I 
have  passed,  no  matter  with  how  much  of  personal  risk  they 
were  to  be  encountered,  there  was  no  going  back.  I  see 
no  danger,  I  confess,  especially  now — but,  any  how,  my 
way  is  onward,  and  I  shall  go." 

I  never,  however,  made  good  my  promise  to  narrate  the 
incidents  of  my  travels,  further  than  as  these  were  em- 
braced in  my  official  returns.  The  above  account  of  the 

VOL.    I.  15 


114  MEMOIRS,   &c.,  &c. 

surrender  of  the  Red-Bird  will  not  lose  any  of  its  fresh- 
ness here,  I  hope,  from  its  having  been  published  in  pretty 
much  the  same  dress  in  the  newspapers,  a  short  time  after 
its  reception  by  the  Secretary  of  War,  and  again,  in  the 
work  on  the  Aborigines  of  North  America,  by  myself  and 
James  Hall.  As  it  formed  part  of  the  varied  occur- 
rences of  my  tour  in  1827,  which  I  am  now  for  the  first 
time  embodying,  I  can  not,  in  justice  to  the  connexion 
which  I  wish  to  preserve  of  the  whole,  omit  it. 

On  the  morning  of  the  3d,  having  little  else  to  do,  I 
busied  myself  to  find  out,  if  I  could,  how  the  Indians  could, 
without  danger,  capture  the  rattle-snake.  This  whole 
country  is  full  of  them ;  and  so  constant  is  the  noise  of 
their  rattles,  when  anything  happens  to  molest  them,  that 
the  ear  is  kept  half  the  time  deceived  by  what  seems  to  be 
the  ticking  of  watches,  in  a  watch-maker's  window.  I  was 
honored  by  a  visit  from  one  in  my  tent  that  morning,  and 
was  prompted  by  that  call,  perhaps,  to  find  out  in  what  way 
my  civilities  might  best  protect  me  from  their  too  close 
attention.  I  was  told  the  smell  of  tobacco  made  the  snake 
sick ;  and  this  explained  why,  in  two  instances  in  which  I 
had  witnessed  the  taking  of  this  reptile  by  Indians,  tobacco 
was  employed — as  in  the  case  of  the  one  that  had  come 
from  the  land  of  souls,  at  the  time  when  the  march  of  the 
Indians  was  impeded  by  the  white  mark  in  the  heavens. 
They  also  employ  a  root,  but  of  what  herb  or  shrub  I  could 
not  find  out,  which  they  pound  and  put  on  a  stick ;  then 
they  excite  the  snake  to  bite  it,  when  the  poison  of  the 
root  being  taken  into  the  snake's  mouth,  kills  it.  I  was 
told  they  take  from  the  neck  of  the  turkey-buzzard  a  piece 
of  the  flesh,  and  dry  and  pound  it,  and  rub  their  bodies 
with  this  powder.  Thus  guarded,  the  snake  will  not  bite, 
or  come  near  them.  How  true  all,  or  any  part  of  all  this 
is,  I  cannot  vouch,  never  having  made  trial  of  either. 

At  nine  in  the  morning,  after  the  surrender,  I  took  leave 
of  the  military,  and  in  company  with  the  count,  Judge 


MEMOIRS,   &c.,  &c.  115 

Lecuer,  and  Rev.  Mr.  Jones,  started  for  a  descent  of  the 
Ouisconsin  river.  Having  crossed  the  Fox  river  to  the  op- 
posite landing,  on  the  portage,  an  ox-cart  was  provided  for 
our  transportation  across  to  the  Ouisconsin — the  width  of 
the  portage  being  about  twenty-five  hundred  paces.  The 
entire  way  was  miry,  and  full  of  rattle-snakes.  The  vete- 
ran interpreter,  Pauquet,*  was  employed  to  drive  us  over. 
The  wheels  of  the  cart,  though  broad,  sank  deep  in  the 
mud,  and  the  sturdy  beasts  bent  to  their  duty ;  but  without 
the  constant  employment  of  Pauquet's  powerful  arms,  and 
the  exertion  of  his  great  strength  in  applying  to  their  sides 
repeated  strokes  from  what  seemed  like  a  hoop  or  a  hop- 
pole,  exciting  them,  meantime,  with  his  stentorian  voice, 
and  giving  vent  to  anathemas,  in  Winnebago,  with  almost 
every  breath,  we  must  have  been  forced  into  some  other 
conveyance,  or  taken  to  our  feet  in  mud  a  foot  deep,  to 
have,  in  any  reasonable  time,  reached  the  Ouisconsin. 
But  by  the  aid  of  the  hop-pole  and  the  Winnebago  anath- 
emas, both  well  understood,  doubtless,  by  the  oxen,  we 
were  carted  over  in  safety.  When  about  mid-way,  and 
during  one  of  the  numerous  pauses  which  the  oxen  were 
wont  to  make,  the  man  bearing  the  flag-staff  of  my  canoe 
struck,  with  the  lower  end  of  it,  a  rattle-snake  that  lay  near 
by  where  Pauquet  was  standing — for  he  walked  the  entire 
distance.  The  snake,  enraged  at  the  blow,  gave  signs  of 
resistance,  and  apprehending  it  might  dart  its  fangs  into 
Pauquet's  legs,  I  stooped  from  the  cart,  and  ran  it  through 
with  my  sword,  when  one  of  the  men  cut  off  its  head  with 
an  axe.  Whether  Pauquet  trusted  to  his  leather  leggins 
and  moccasins,  or  their  being  well  imbued  with  tobacco 
smoke,  or  to  the  powdered  root,  or  the  buzzard's  neck,  I 
did  not  learn ;  but  he  was  as  composed  in  regard  to  these 
reptiles,  as  if  he  had  been  mailed  in  brass  or  iron. 

Having  crossed  the  portage,  our  canoes,  and  supplies, 
and  baggage  being  all  over,  we  embarked  at  eleven  o'clock, 

*  Since  murdered. 


116  MEMOIRS,  &c.,  &c. 

A.  M.,  on  the  Ouisconsin.  The  current  which  we  had 
been  opposing,  the  entire  length  of  the  Fox  river,  was 
now  in  our  favor ;  the  waters  of  the  Ouisconsin  running 
from  its  source  to  the  Mississippi,  as  do  those  of  the  Fox 
river,  on  the  other  side  of  the  portage,  into  Green  Bay. 
The  first  find  their  way  through  the  lakes  to  the  ocean 
by  the  St.  Lawrence,  the  last  by  the  way  of  the  Missis- 
sippi and  the  Gulf  of  Mexico.  Whether,  after  having 
started  for  those  diverse  directions,  from  sources  so  near 
one  another,  they  ever  meet,  and  mingle  more  in  the  deep 
blue  sea,  is  a  problem  which  I  do  not  pretend  to  solve.  I 
could  not  help  thinking  how  closely  they  resembled  early 
friends,  who  in  boyhood  were  hand  in  hand  with  each 
other,  and  rarely,  for  a  series  of  years,  out  of  one  another's 
sight;  when,  at  last,  "some  current's  thwarting  course" 
separated  them,  to  meet  no  more  forever ! 


MEMOIRS,  &c.,  &c.  H7 


CHAPTER  VI. 

PASSAGE    DOWN   THE   OUISCONSIN   AND   MISSISSIPPI   RIVERS. 

Passage  down  the  Ouisconsin — An  accident — Scenery  of  the  Ouisconsin — A 
parley  with  the  Indians — Visit  to  their  village — Distribution  of  presents — Meet- 
ing with  General  Atkinson  at  Le  Petit  Roche — Difficulties  of  navigation — 
Changes  in  the  river — Junction  with  the  Mississippi — Prairie  du  Chien — Ori- 
gin of  the  name — Description  of  the  Prairie — Scene  and  story  of  "  the  mur- 
ders"— Apprehensions  of  another  attack — Mystery  of  "  Red-Bird's"  outrage 
explained — Passage  down  the  Mississippi — Grave  of  Julian  Du  Buque — Galena — 
The  lead-mines — Trespass  upon  Indian  lands — Causes  of  the  Black  Hawk  and 
Seminole  wars — Rents  at  Galena  enormously  high — Rock  Island — Exceed- 
ing beauty  of  the  place — Boundary  between  civilized  and  savage  life — Fa- 
miliar sounds — Wrecks  in  the  river — Fort  Edwards — Encampment  on  an 
Island — Visit  to  the  farm-house  of  a  settler — A  peep  at  the  newspaper — Peli- 
can Island — Shooting — Panic  of  the  inhabitants — The  milk-sickness. 

OUR  voyagers  felt  now,  upon  this  onward  current,  as  the 
mariner  feels,  when  both  the  wind  and  tide,  after  having 
been  long  contrary,  turn  in  his  favor — and  when  he  is 
assured  there  will  be  no  change,  till  he  reaches  the  port  of 
his  destination. 

I  had  engaged  a  fine-looking  Indian  to  join  the  count  as 
a  voyager,  hoping  thereby  to  add  to  the  speed  of  his 
canoe,  and  that  we  might,  in  our  descent  to  the  Missis- 
sippi, keep  close  company.  I  had  heard  much  of  the 
scenery  of  the  Ouisconsin,  and  felt  that  my  admiration  of 
it  would  be  stimulated,  if  the  count,  with  his  lustrous  eyes, 
could  be  along  to  see  the  beauty  and  grandeur  of  the 
scenes,  and  in  such  close  neighborhood  to  me,  as  to  inter- 
change sentiments  and  feelings  in  their  contemplation. 
An  accident  deprived  the  count  of  the  services  of  the  In- 
dian 


118  MEMOIRS,  &c.,  &c. 

The  Rev.  Mr.  J.,  being  unpracticed  in  the  handling  of 
fire-arms,  was  sitting  on  a  log  with  the  count's  double- 
barrelled  gun  across  his  lap — the  muzzle  pointed  in  a  line 
with  another  log,  at  some  twenty  paces  distant,  upon 
which  sat  the  Indian — when,  as  luck  would  have  it,  one  of 
the  barrels  was  discharged,  the  shot  rattling  against  the 
log,  and  scattering  the  sand  about,  besides  a  few  penetra- 
ting the  Indian's  leggins.  Up  sprang  the  astonished  brave 
and  voyager,  and  eyeing  Mr.  J.  for  a  second  or  two,  said — 
"  That  man  don't  know  what  he's  about" — then,  looking 
over  his  shoulder  at  Mr.  J.,  walked  off. 

We  had  not  been  long  under  way,  before  I  saw  the 
count's  force  was  inadequate.  I  made  a  pause  till  he 
came  up,  and  transferred  to  his  canoe  one  of  my  men ; 
the  force  proving  yet  too  feeble,  I  assisted  him  with 
another — when  onward  we  went,  to  the  music  of  the 
voyagers'  songs — happy  in  the  reflection  that  our  expedi- 
tion had,  so  far,  terminated  otherwise  than  in  blood. 
We  were  charmed,  too,  at  having  escaped  the  monotony, 
as  well  as  the  tedium  of  the  ascent  of  the  Fox  river. 
There  are,  it  is  true,  upon  its  shores,  many  beautiful 
upland  views,  where  the  trees  grow  apart,  and  without 
undergrowth,  conveying  to  the  eye  the  almost  certain 
presence  of  civilization  and  cultivation.  But,  in  the  main, 
its  shores  are  level,  and  its  waters  are  dark,  and  filled  with 
theyb//e  avoin,  or  wild  rice,  and  various  aquatic  plants  be- 
sides ;  some  of  them,  the  lily,  especially,  very  beautiful. 
Nature  would  seem,  even  here,  to  have  made  provision 
for  the  gratification  of  man ;  and,  if  the  way  was  mono- 
tonous, she  kindly  scattered  flowers  to  diversify  the  scene, 
and  regale  the  voyager.  Here,  on  the  Ouisconsin,  are 
sandy  shores,  and  sand-bars,  and  islands,  and  rolling  and 
verdure-capped  shores,  and  hills  and  mountains — with 
valleys  of  the  richest  green,  in  which  there  would  seem 
never  to  have  been  a  war,  even  of  the  elements  ;  and  these 


MEMOIRS,   &c.,  &c.  119 

again  were  relieved  by  miniature  representations  of  the 
pictured  rocks  of  Lake  Superior. 

The  water  of  the  Ouisconsin  is  of  the  color  of  brandy, 
with  less  sediment  than  is  found  in  that  of  the  Fox  river. 
Neither,  however,  should  be  drunk,  in  my  opinion,  without 
having  first  undergone  the  process  of  boiling.  Every  mile 
of  our  descent  increased  the  variety,  and  grandeur,  and 
beauty  of  the  shores.  Hills  shooting  up  into  more  tower- 
ing heights,  without  a  tree,  but  clothed  in  the  brightest 
green ;  others  again,  with  summits  resembling  dilapidated 
fortifications,  and  so  like  them,  as  to  cheat  the  observer 
into  the  belief  that  they  were,  sure  enough,  once,  what  they 
now  seem  to  have  been.  In  one  of  these,  we  noticed  a 
tall,  leafless,  and  dead  pine,  so  exactly  resembling  a  flag- 
staff, not  in  exterior,  only,  but  in  its  position,  as  to  con- 
vince at  least  one  of  the  party  that  a  fortification  had 
once  crowned  that  hill,  and  in  its  destruction,  the  flag- 
staff had  escaped  the  conflagration,  by  being  only  charred. 
Many  of  these  elevations  rise  from  the  river,  in  the  ter- 
race form ;  the  lower,  all  soft  and  green,  and  beautiful ;  the 
upper,  crowned  with  dark  evergreens,  arranged  so  as  to 
wear  the  appearance  of  having  been  planted  upon  a  regu- 
lar plan,  the  whole  conception  and  execution  of  some 
mind  richly  stored  with  all  the  elements  of  a  practical 
science.  And  was  it  not 

"  NATURE,  enchanting  nature,  in  whose  form 
And  lineaments  divine,  I  trace  a  hand 
That  errs  not?" 

We  had  not  been  many  hours  on  the  Ouisconsin,  before, 
on  looking  to  my  right,  I  saw  some  hundred  or  more  In- 
dians appear  suddenly  on  the  summit  of  a  hill  of  some 
sixty  feet  elevation,  overlooking  the  river,  and  form  in  line, 
with  their  rifles.  What  their  object  was,  I  could  not  di- 
vine, but  every  movement  seemed  to  indicate  a  purpose  to 
greet  us  with  a  shower  of  leaden  deaths.  There  was  not 
a  second  to  spare ;  so  I  ordered  my  steersman  to  turn  in, 


120  MEMOIRS,  dec.,  &c. 

instantly.  The  head  of  the  canoe  was  in  a  moment 
changed  from  its  line  down  the  river,  and  brought  in  one  to 
the  shore.  This  movement  brought  all  their  rifles  across 
the  arms  of  the  Indians,  who,  being  suddenly  struck  by 
this  prompt  movement,  were  at  a  loss  to  comprehend  its 
meaning,  and  seemed  resolved  to  await  its  issue.  Our  guns 
were  concealed.  On  reaching  the  beach,  I  ordered  the 
men  to  be  ready  for  any  emergency ;  and  so,  buckling  on  my 
sword,  and  putting  a  pair  of  pistols  in  my  pockets,  I  direct- 
ed Ben  to  fill  his  pockets  with  tobacco  and  Indian  jewelry, 
and  follow  me  and  the  interpreter  up  the  steep  ascent. 

Ben's  color  changed  from  its  fine  and  glossy  ebony  to  a 
sort  of  livid  paleness,  and  a  trembling  seized  him.  He  had 
often  predicted,  as  well  the  year  before,  as  now,  that  we 
should  never  see  home  again ;  and  this  he  verily  believed 
was  to  be  the  hour  when  his  prophesy  was  to  be  fulfilled. 
This  change  in  his  complexion  was  nothing  new  to  me, 
having  had  occasion  to  observe  it  frequently;  and,  in  my 
"  Tour  to  the  Lakes,"  to  record  it. 

On  arriving  at  the  summit  of  the  hill,  I  stood  a  moment. 
The  Indians  had  all  changed  their  position,  and  were  now 
facing  me.  Not  a  word  was  spoken,  nor  did  a  man  of 
them  stir.  After  a  short  pause  I  inquired,  through  the  in- 
terpreter, if  their  chief  was  present.  He  was.  "  Tell  him 
to  come  and  shake  hands  with  me.  I  am  from  where  the 
sun  rises,  and  near  his  Great  Father's  lodge,  in  the  great 
village  of  Washington,  where  I  have  often  seen  and  shaken 
hands  with  many  of  the  great  men  of  the  Indian  race.  I 
have  come  a  long  way  to  see  them  in  their  own  country, 
that  when  I  go  back  to  their  Great  Father,  I  may  be  able 
to  tell  him  how  his  red  children  are — what  are  their  wants 
— and  before  I  go,  if  I  can,  to  make  peace  among  them." 
The  moment  this  was  interpreted,  the  whole  party  gave  a 
grunt  of  approbation,  long,  loud,  and  emphatic;  when  a 
tall,  aged,  and  good-looking  Indian,  from  his  position  on 
the  extreme  right,  walked  up  and  shook  hands  with  me 


MEMOIRS,  &c.,  &c.  121 

most  cordially.  I  asked  his  name — and  then  calling  him 
by  it,  said,  "  You  hold  in  your  hand,  the  hand  of  a  friend 
and  brother" — when  the  whole  party  advanced  and  shook 
hands  with  me. 

Seeing  their  village  at  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile  back, 
on  the  plain,  I  asked  to  be  allowed  to  go  there,  that  I  might 
shake  hands  with  the  squaws  and  papooses,  and  make 
them  some  presents.  We  marched  to  the  village.  A  buf- 
falo robe  was  spread  out  for  me  to  sit  upon,  the  calumet 
lighted,  and  we  smoked — I,  according  to  my  custom,  (for 
I  never  smoke,)  blowing  the  smoke  out  of  the  bowl  of  the 
pipe,  like  a  steam-engine.  I  was  never  suspected  of  not 
relishing  this  great  luxury,  the  prized,  and  cherished,  and 
enjoyed,  alike  by  savage  and  civilized  man.  This  ceremo- 
ny over,  I  directed  Ben  to  cut  up  the  twists  of  tobacco  into 
smaller  portions,  and  divide  it  among  the  men.  Ben  was 
so  much  relieved  of  his  terrors,  as  to  be  specially  prompt, 
on  this  occasion,  and  he  so  employed  his  eye  in  counting, 
and  his  judgment  in  cutting  up  the  tobacco,  as  to  make  it 
hold  out  exactly ;  for  this  I  gave  him  great  commendation. 
The  distribution  of  the  tobacco  having  been  made,  and  to 
the  high  gratification  of  this  tobacco-loving  people,  I  pro- 
ceeded to  distribute  the  jewelry,  consisting  of  finger-rings, 
made  of  cheap  metals,  set  with  variously  colored  glass, 
and  ear-bobs,  &c.  These  I  threw,  by  the  handful,  on  the 
ground,  which  produced  an  excitement,  and  a  display  of 
muscular  dexterity,  which  told  well  for  the  activity  of  these, 
at  other  times,  indolent-looking  squaws.  The  scene  was  a 
literal  scramble ;  and  it  was  carried  on  with  the  energies 
of  the  prize-fighter,  and  amidst  expressions  of  mingled  joy 
and  surprise,  that  made  the  affair  quite  a  circumstance  in 
the  lives  of  these  poor  destitute  people.  I  was  made  hap- 
py myself,  in  seeing  them  so. 

After  an  hour  spent  in  these  ceremonies,  I  told  the  chief 
I  was  short  of  hands,  and  wanted  two  of  his  braves  to  ac- 
company me  to  Prairie  du  Chien.  He  shook  his  head,  and 

VOL.   I.  16 


122  MEMOIRS,  &c.,  &c. 

said,  "  Sac  and  Fox  Indians  kill  them."  Never,  I  assured 
him,  while  they  were  with  me ;  and  that  I  would  promise 
they  should  come  home  in  safety,  laden  with  presents. 
He  assented,  when  there  was  a  general  rush  of  young  men 
as  volunteers.  I  put  a  hand  on  the  two  who  were  nearest 
to  me,  and  said, — I  take  these,  because  they  came  first, 
and  not  because  of  any  preference  ;  for  I  know  they  are  all 
brave  men  and  true.  I  now  felt  secure  for  the  remainder 
of  the  distance  to  the  Prairie,  and  immediately  embarked, 
and  continued  my  voyage. 

At  Le  Petit  Roche,  forty-five  miles  from  the  portage,  at 
eight  o'clock  in  the  evening,  fell  in  with  General  Atkinson, 
and  his  command.  His  barges  were  ranged  alongside  the 
bank  of  the  river,  and  moored  there.  These  long  keel- 
boats,  some  as  much  as  thirty  tons  burden,  with  the  sails 
of  several  of  them  hanging  quietly  in  the  calm  of  the  even- 
ing against  the  masts ;  the  numerous  fires  that  lined  the 
shores,  around  which  a  large  portion  of  the  general's  com- 
mand of  seven  hundred  men  were  gathered,  gave  to  the 
place  the  appearance  of  a  seaport.  The  general  hum  of 
voices,  the  stroke  of  the  axe,  with  the  confused  noises,  made 
of  it,  in  so  out-of-the-way  a  place,  where  never  before  had 
such  circumstances  combined,  a  sort  of  spirit-scene ;  espe- 
cially as  the  moon's  light  invested  the  whole,  being  made 
pale  by  the  many  lights,  and  yet  paler  with  an  occasional 
half-obscuration  caused  by  the  rolling  up  of  denser  por- 
tions of  the  smoke  from  these  numerous  fires.  Everything 
in  nature  by  which  we  were  surrounded  was  still,  save 
only  the  sounds  that  proceeded  from  this  spot,  and  the 
plash  of  the  paddles  of  our  canoes.  Presently  a  sentinel 
challenged,  and  demanded  the  countersign.  I  told  him 
who  I  was,  and  that  I  was  bearer  of  tidings  from  Major 
Whistler's  command,  (which  I  had  left  that  morning  at  the 
portage,)  to  General  Atkinson.  The  sergeant  of  the  guard 
was  called,  who  making  this  message  known  to  General 
Atkinson,  we  were  invited  to  come  alongside  his  barge, 


MEMOIRS,  &c.,  &c.  123 

and  (he  being  confined  to  his  berth  by  a  slight  attack  of 
fever)  down  into  the  cabin  to  see  him. 

We  were  received  with  the  courtesy  that  always  distin- 
guished this  gallant  officer,  when  I  went  rapidly  over  the 
events  that  had  transpired,  and  informed  him  of  the  sur- 
render of  the  murderers ;  commended  the  Red-Bird  to  all 
the  kind  usage  which  his  unfortunate  condition  would  per- 
mit, and  especially  urged  that  he  might  not  be  put  in  irons. 
I  did  this,  because  I  very  well  knew  that  he  would  suffer  a 
thousand  deaths  rather  than  attempt  to  regain  his  liberty. 
There  was  no  mistake  in  this  matter.  The  man  had  lite- 
rally already  parted  from  life,  and  had  his  eyes  fixed  more 
upon  the  spirit-land,  than  upon  coming  in  contact  again 
with  the  bitter  realities  of  the  world  around  him.  All  this 
passed,  and  pledging  each  other  in  a  glass  of  wine,  and 
our  best  wishes  for  the  general's  health,  we  continued  our 
voyage  till  ten  at  night,  when  we  landed  on  a  sand-bar  for 
repose.  Myriads  of  mosquitoes  assailed  us.  Finding  it 
impossible  to  endure  their  assaults,  we  determined  to  fly ; 
so  at  two  in  the  morning  we  struck  our  tents,  and  were 
again  afloat,  and  going  finely  to  the  tune  of  the  boat 
songs. 

At  seven  the  next  morning  we  were  thirty  miles  below 
our  encampment,  and  forty-five  miles  from  Le  Petit  Roche. 
The  varied  and  bold  shores  of  the  river  continued  still  to 
increase  in  interest.  The  color  of  the  water  is  the  same, 
and  so  is  the  loose  and  moveable  material  of  the  bottom 
of  the  river ;  the  sand  of  which  it  is  composed  being  so 
fine,  as  when  touched  by  anything,  is  seen  to  stream  off  in 
the  direction  of  whatever  current  may  be  the  strongest. 
To  this  cause  may  be  attributed  the  formation  of  the  nu- 
merous sand-bars  and  islands  that  abound  in  this  river. 
General  Atkinson  doubtless  knew  the  nature  of  the  passage 
he  would  have  to  make,  and  how  difficult  is  the  navigation 
of  the  Ouisconsin,  owing  to  the  ever-varying  course  of  its 
channel,  and  its  shallowness;  and  hence  he  secured  boats 


124  MEMOIRS,   &c,,  &c. 

that  did  not  draw  over  twelve  or  eighteen  inches  of 
water. 

Everything  indicates  a  recession  of  the  waters  of  this 
river.  The  water-marks,  sometimes  high  up  on  its  shores, 
and  bluffs,  and  hill-sides,  as  well  as  the  form  and  fertility 
of  the  bottom  lands  and  prairies,  all  tell,  in  very  plain  lan- 
guage, that  this  river  was  once — but  when,  who  knows  ? — 
capable  of  swimming  navies.  Many  a  tall  ship  might  have 
rested  on  the  bosom  of  this  once  wide  and  deep,  but  now 
narrow  and  shallow  river ;  and  anchors  might  have  been 
let  go,  the  noise  of  whose  chain  cables  would  have  re- 
sounded amidst  those  hills  like  rumbling  thunder.  Hills, 
vast,  towering,  irregular,  many  of  them  circular-crowned, 
increased  as  we  approached  the  Mississippi ;  and  between 
them,  stretching  far  off  in  the  interior,  are  beautiful  savan- 
nas, widening  as  they  recede  from  the  river,  and  then  ter- 
minate in  fertile  and  richly-clad  table  lands. 

At  about  sun-down,  arrived  at  the  junction  of  the  Ouis- 
consin  with  the  Mississippi.  Being  in  advance  of  the 
count,  we  landed,  taking  from  our  canoe  as  much  baggage 
as  would  make  room  for  him  and  the  remainder  of  the 
company,  Ben,  on  the  arrival  of  the  count,  being  trans- 
ferred to  his  canoe,  and  left  in  charge  of  the  baggage ; 
when  we  rounded  to,  upon  the  Mississippi,  and  against  the 
current  of  the  river,  arriving  at  Prairie  du  Chien  at  eight 
o'clock,  in  the  softest,  and  brightest,  and  purest  moonlight  I 
had  ever  beheld.  I  thought  of  every  scene  of  the  sort  I 
had  ever  seen,  and  of  which  I  had  ever  read ;  of  that  hour 
when  Shakspeare  watched  and  loved  the  beams  of  this 
beautiful  orb,  until  he  said — 

"  How  sweet  those  moonbeams  sleep  on  yonder  bank ;" 

of  those  nights  when  I  used  to  sit  on  the  shore  of  Lake 
Superior,  where  I  thought  light  so  pure,  so  all-encircling, 
never  came  from  the  moon  before,  and  where  the  rainbow 
also  took  precedence,  in  the  gorgeousness  of  its  dies,  in 


MEMOIRS,  &c.,  &c.  125 

the  breadth  and  nearness  of  its  bases,  so  near,  sometimes, 
as  to  produce  an  irresistible  motion  to  wash  my  hands  in. 
the  falling  glory.  I  have  often  since  sought  to  give  prece- 
dence to  that  lovely  bow  that  spanned  the  Potomac,  the 
frigate  Brandywine  immediately  beneath  the  centre  of  its 
arch,  on  board  of  which  we  had,  but  a  few  hours  before, 
placed  the  good  La  Fayette,  on  his  final  return  from  this 
country  to  his  La  Belle  France.  But  it  was  vain.  The 
rainbow  of  Lake  Superior  has  had,  can  have,  no  equal ;  but 
the  moonlight  of  the  Mississippi,  on  that  night  when  I  first 
beheld  this  father  of  rivers,  will  take  precedence  of  all  I 
had  ever  seen  before.  How  I  wish  I  could  paint  it !  The 
moon  above,  and  the  river  beneath  me ;  the  glory  of  the 
heavens,  and  the  silver-tipped  ripples  of  the  Mississippi, 
and  the  pearl-tinged  forests,  made  brighter  by  the  contrast 
of  the  dark  recesses  into  which  the  moonlight  had  not  en- 
tered, with  the  associations  of  the  scenes  around  me — 
Pike's  Hill,  so  named  in  honor  of  the  gallant  officer  of 
that  name,  being  just  opposite — all  combined,  as  the  canoe 
was  wheeled  out  upon  the  river,  to  fill  me  with  emotions 
strange,  bewildering,  yet  soothing ;  and  then  there  was  the 
grateful  sense  which  my  heart  cherished  for  the  security 
which  the  unseen,  though  ever-present  God,  had  blessed  us 
with.  I  had  no  language  to  express  all  these  then,  and  I 
have  none  now ;  but  the  memory  of  it  all  will  never  die  ! 

We  were  now  on  the  theatre  of  the  recent  Indian  mur- 
ders, tidings  of  which  had  gone  forth ;  and  reaching  St. 
Louis  and  Jefferson  Barracks,  upon  the  one  hand,  and 
Green  Bay  and  Fort  Howard  upon  the  other,  had  put  in 
motion  about  a  thousand  men,  to  interpose  the  appropriate 
shield  to  arrest  and  extinguish  the  spirit  that  had  led  to 
these  butcheries.  Well  would  it  have  been,  if,  when  the 
bayonets  of  the  nation  had  been  despatched  to  punish  the 
unenlightened,  the  untutored  Indian,  for  the  execution  of 
the  provisions  of  the  Lex  Talionis,  the  only  law  known  to 
him,  a  corresponding  energy,  and  the  adequate  power,  had 


126  MEMOIRS,  &c.,  &c. 

been  employed  to  compel  the  civilized  of  our  own  race  to 
treat  these  unfortunate  people  as  human  beings ;  and  if 
there  could  be  found  no  place  for  kindness  in  these  rela- 
tions, to  enforce  the  obligation  to  treat  them  with  at  least 
common  justice. 

Prairie  du  Chien  is  said  to  have  been  once  the  seat  of  a 
Fox  chief,  named  "  THE  DOG."  The  level  land,  upon  part 
of  which  the  village  stands,  was  once,  doubtless,  part  of 
the  bed  of  the  Mississippi.  When  forsaken  by  the  waters, 
the  channel  of  the  river  running  close  to  the  opposite  or 
southern  shore,  the  deserted  lands  became  a  prairie.  Be- 
ing now  shorn  of  its  native  grass  and  flowers,  the  entire 
area  has  become  a  waste.  When  a  prairie, "  the  Dog"  was 
its  principal  occupant,  with  his  band  perhaps,  and  its 
owner — when  the  French  gave  it  the  appellation  it  yet 
bears,  of  Le  Prairie  du  Chien,  or  the  Prairie  of  the  Dog. 

This  area  is  composed  of  several  thousand  acres  of  land. 
From  W.  S.  W.  to  N.  N.  E.,  (the  Mississippi  running  at 
this  place  due  N.  N.  W.,  and  being  not  over  four  hundred 
yards  wide)  it  may  be  one  mile  and  a  half  in  breadth,  and 
in  length  from  four  to  five  miles.  The  hills  opposite  rise 
abruptly  out  of  the  river.  They  are  irregular,  but  covered 
with  trees.  On  the  east,  are  hills  corresponding  in  height, 
but  wearing  no  foliage.  The  rocks  rise  to  some  three 
hundred  feet  above  their  base,  with  a  show  of  the  blue 
and  the  white  of  the  lime  of  which  they  are  composed, 
and  with  many  a  water-mark  to  tell  how  high  up  their 
towering  ascent  the  waters  of  the  Mississippi  once  reach- 
ed. And  then,  the  most  hasty  glance  will  satisfy  any  one 
that  the  two  sides  were  once  united ;  but  in  what  age  of 
the  world,  nobody  can  tell.  Ages  may  have  been  required 
for  the  waters  of  the  Mississippi  to  have  worn  away  the 
opposing  masses,  making  for  their  transit  to  the  ocean  so 
wide  a  passage  as  is  now  opened  at  that  spot ;  and  yet, 
only  about  four  hundred  yards  of  it  are  now  occupied  by 
the  descending  waters. 


MEMOIRS,  &c.,  &c.  127 

The  buildings  of  the  Prairie  are  of  wood,  are  old,  and 
generally  in  a  state  of  decay.  The  only  two  good  houses 
here,  are  Rolette's,  and  a  trader's,  by  the  name  of  Lock- 
wood,  I  believe.  There  appeared  to  be  about  one  hun- 
dred of  these  decaying  tenements,  the  old  picket  fort 
standing  on  the  plain,  a  little  north  of  the  village,  quite  a 
ruin. 

My  first  duty  on  arriving  at  the  Prairie,  was  to  fulfil  my 
promise,  made  to  the  Indian  chief,  by  returning  to  him 
safely  his  two  young  braves,  laden  with  presents.  I  took 
them  to  the  public  store,  and  literally  loaded  them  with 
good  and  useful  Indian  supplies,  and  of  every  variety. 
This  done,  I  procured  an  escort,  to  attend  and  protect 
them  on  their  journey  across  the  country  to  their  village. 
They  arrived,  as  I  afterwards  learned,  in  safety.  I  have 
often  heard  since,  of  the  inquiries  which  these  people 
make  after  "  the  big  captain,"  as  their  Indian  term  applied 
to  myself,  being  interpreted,  imports ;  the  prefix  "  big," 
not  relating  so  much  to  my  size,  as  to  their  conception  of 
my  capacity  to  confer  benefits  upon  them,  and  from  my 
relations  to  the  government. 

This  duty  performed,  I  rode  to  the  scene  of  the  recent 
murders,  attended  by  my  companions,  including  Ben,  who 
manifested  great  anxiety  to  see  the  place  where  the  Indi- 
an had  actually  carried  out,  upon  others,  those  plans  of 
destruction,  which  he  had  so  often  anticipated  would  be 
made  personal  to  himself.  The  scene  of  these  butcheries 
is  distant  from  the  village,  in  an  easterly  direction,  about 
three  miles.  I  received  the  whole  story  from  the  widow 
of  one  of  the  murdered  men,  Gagnier  by  name,  who  was, 
at  the  time,  proprietor  of  the  log  house  in  which  he  was 
killed.  Gagnier  was  a  half-breed,  his  mother  having  been 
Indian,  and  his  father  French.  The  door  of  this  one-story 
log  tenement  fronts  east,  and  a  window  opposite,  of  course, 
west.  A  large  tree  grows  near  its  southwestern  corner. 
Gagnier  was  sitting  on  a  chest,  on  the  left  of  the  door.  At 


128  MEMOIRS,  &c.,  &c. 

the  window,  his  wife  was  washing  clothes.  On  her  left 
was  the  bed,  in  which  a  child,  eleven  months  old,  was 
sleeping.  On  her  right,  and  a  little  back  of  her,  sat  a  dis- 
charged soldier,  named  Liepcap  ;  and  this  was  the  situa- 
tion of  the  family,  when  Wan-nig-sootsh-kau — the  Red- 
Bird — We-kau,  or  the  Sun,  and  a  third  Indian,  entered. 
Visits  of  Indians  being  common,  no  particular  attention 
was  paid  to  them.  They  were,  however,  received  with 
the  usual  civility,  and  asked  if  they  would  have  something 
to  eat.  They  said  yes,  and  would  like  some  fish  and 
milk. 

Gagnier  had,  meantime,  seen  something  peculiar  in  the 
looks  and  movements  of  these  Indians,  as  is  supposed, 
which  led  him  to  reach  up,  and  take  from  brackets  just 
over  his  head,  his  rifle,  which,  as  Mrs.  G.  turned  to  get  the 
fish  and  milk,  she  saw  laying  across  Gagnier's  lap.  At 
the  moment  she  heard  the  click  caused  by  the  cocking  of 
the  Red-Bird's  rifle,  which  was  instantly  followed  by  its 
discharge.  She  looked,  and  saw  her  husband  was  shot. 
At  the  same  moment,  the  third  Indian  shot  old  Liepcap, 
when  Mrs.  G.  seeing  We-kau,  who  had  lingered  about 
the  door,  about  to  rush  in,  she  met  him,  made  fight,  and 
wrested  from  him  his  rifle.  He  ran  out,  she  pursuing  him, 
employing  all  her  energies  to  cock  the  rifle  and  shoot  him, 
but,  by  some  mysterious  cause,  was  rendered  powerless — 
"  feeling,"  as  she  expressed  it,  "  like  one  in  a  dream,  try- 
ing to  call,  or  to  run,  but  without  the  ability  to  do  either." 
To  save  himself,  We-kau  kept  running  round  the  big  tree 
at  the  corner  of  the  house,  well  knowing  if  he  should  put 
off  in  a  line,  she  would  have  better  aim,  and  be  more  likely 
to  kill  him.  After  a  few  turns  round  the  tree,  and  finding 
she  had  no  power  over  the  rifle,  she  turned  short  about, 
and  made  for  the  village,  bearing  the  rifle  with  her,  to 
give  the  alarm ;  which,  being  given,  she  returned,  followed 
by  a  posse  of  armed  men,  and  found  her  infant,  which 
she  had  left,  covered  up  in  the  bed  on  the  floor,  scalped, 


MEMOIRS,  &c.,  &c.  129 

and  its  neck  cut  just  below  the  occiput,  to  the  bone.  This 
was  the  work  of  We-kau,  who,  being  intent  on  having  a 
scalp — the  other  two  having  secured  theirs — there  being 
no  other  subject,  took  one  from  the  head  of  the  child.  The 
knife,  from  the  examination  made  of  the  head,  was  ap- 
plied in  front  of  the  crown,  and  brought  round  by  the  right 
ear,  and  far  down  behind,  and  up  again  on  the  other  side, 
the  object  seeming  to  be,  to  get  as  much  hair  as  he  could. 
In  the  turn  of  the  knife,  at  the  back  of  the  head,  the  deep 
cut  was  given,  which  found  its  way  to  the  bone. 

The  child,  when  I  saw  it,  was  comfortable,  and  I  be- 
lieve it  recovered — but  the  sight  of  a  rifle,  even  at  that 
tender  age,  when  one  might  suppose  it  could  not  distin- 
guish between  a  rifle  and  anything  else,  would  terrify  it 
almost  into  fits.  Young  as  it  was,  it  must,  from  its  place 
in  the  bed,  have  seen  a  rifle,  in  connexion  with  what  it  was 
made  itself,  so  immediately  after,  to  suffer.  I  made  the 
mother  presents  for  herself  and  child. 

Governor  Cass,  after  our  first  parting  at  Green  Bay,  arri- 
ved at  the  Prairie  just  after  these  murders  had  been  com- 
mitted. The  inhabitants  being,  as  was  natural,  in  a  state 
of  great  alarm,  he  devised  the  best  means  of  defence  in 
his  power,  and,  as  has  been  stated,  descended  the  Missis- 
sippi with  tidings  of  the  outbreak,  to  General  Atkinson. 
From  the  day  the  governor  left  Green  Bay,  till  his  return 
to  it,  which  was  four  weeks,  he  had  voyaged  in  a  bark 
canoe  sixteen  hundred  miles — this  was  going  at  an  average 
rate  of  about  sixty  miles  the  day,  including  a  tarry  of  one 
day  at  the  Prairie,  and  three  at  St.  Louis. 

Notwithstanding  we  bore  to  the  Prairie  the  tidings  of 
the  surrender,  there  still  remained,  in  the  minds  of  the 
inhabitants,  some  lingering  apprehensions  that  more  of  the 
same  kind  of  bloody  work  might  await  them.  They 
thought  the  war-cloud  had  not  yet  spent  itself.  But  nothing 
surprised  them  so  much  as  that  the  hitherto  peace-loving 
"  Red-Bird"  should  have  been  guilty  of  such  conduct.  He 

VOL.   I.  17 


130  MEMOIRS,  &c.,  &c. 

was  not  only  well  known,  but  was,  also,  the  pride  of  the 
Prairie.  Such  was  the  confidence  reposed  in  him,  that  he 
was  always  sought  after  as  a  protector,  and  his  presence 
was  looked  upon  as  a  pledge  of  security  against  any  out- 
break that  might  be  attempted.  Indeed,  when  husbands, 
and  brothers,  and  sons,  had  occasion  to  leave  their  homes, 
the  families  considered  themselves  quite  secure,  if  the 
Red-Bird  could  be  procured  to  see  to  their  safety.  What 
had  happened  to  induce  him  to  act  the  part  he  had  acted, 
was  a  mystery  to  all.  As  to  We-kau,  he  was  known,  and 
abhorred,  as  one  of  the  most  bloody-minded  of  his  race. 
Of  the  third,  whose  name  I  could  not  learn,  they  knew  but 
little. 

All  this  mystery,  however,  was,  at  last,  solved.  There 
had  been  great  indignities  offered  to  the  band  near  the  St. 
Peters,  to  which  Red-Bird  had  become  allied,  and  personal 
violence  committed  upon  some  of  their  leading  men,  and 
by  those  whose  station  ought  to  have  taught  them  better; 
and  whose  authority  and  power  should  have  been  dif- 
ferently exercised.  The  leading  chiefs  counselled  upon 
those  acts  of  violence,  and  resolved  on  enforcing  the  Indi- 
an's law — retaliation.  Red-Bird  was  called  upon  to  go  out, 
and  "  take  meat,"  as  they  phrase  it.  Not  wishing  to  ap- 
pear a  coward,  he  undertook  the  enterprise,  secretly  re- 
joicing that  the  business  had  been  referred  to  him ;  for  he 
resolved  to  make  a  circuit,  and  return,  saying  he  could 
find  no  meat.  He  did  so,  and  was  upbraided,  and  taunted, 
and  called  "  coward"  and  told  he  knew  very  well,  if  he  had 
the  spirit  to  avenge  the  wrongs  of  his  people,  he  could,  by 
going  to  the  Prairie,  get  as  much  meat  as  he  could  bring 
home.  This  fired  him,  and  he  resolved  to  redeem  his 
character  as  a  brave !  when,  beckoning  to  We-kau,  and 
another  Indian,  he  told  them  to  follow  him.  They  pro- 
ceeded to  the  Prairie.  Gagnier's  was  not  the  first  house 
they  entered,  with  the  view  of  carrying  out  their  purpose. 
If  I  mistake  not,  their  first  visit  was  to  the  house  of  Mr. 


MEMOIRS,   dec.,  &c.  131 

Lockwood,  who  was  then  absent.  His  interesting  wife 
was  at  home,  and  her  life  was  undoubtedly  saved  by  the 
presence  of  an  old  Frenchman  on  a  visit  to  her,  who  not 
only  understood  the  Winnebago  language,  but  knew  the 
parties  ;  and  he,  also,  was  known  to  them.  They  had  res- 
pect for  him — he  had  been  their  friend.  So,  after  linger- 
ing about  the  house  for  a  season,  they  quit  the  premises, 
and  crossed  the  Prairie,  to  Gagnier's,  and  there  executed 
their  bloody  purpose,  as  I  have  narrated. 

Addressing  a  few  lines  to  General  Atkinson,  still  urging 
a  lenient  treatment  for  the  Red-Bird,  I  prepared  for  the 
descent  of  the  Mississippi ;  and  accordingly,  after  having 
partaken  of  the  hospitality  of  Rolette,  I  embarked  with  my 
party  in  my  bark  canoe,  and  at  three,  P.  M.,  of  the  8th 
September,  was  again  upon  the  bosom  of  the  Mississippi, 
and  going,  with  its  descending  current,  onward,  to  St. 
Louis.  Continued  on  till  six  o'clock,  P.  M.,  and  encamp- 
ed twenty  miles  below.  What  had  been  selected  as  a 
place  of  repose  for  the  night,  proved  to  be  a  mosquito 
hive — for  they  literally  swarmed  there.  At  six  in  the 
morning,  after  a  night  of  suffering,  caused  by  the  stings  of 
those  pestilent  lancers,  and  of  inconvenience  occasioned 
by  the  rain,  we  pursued  our  voyage.  The  bed  of  the 
river  had  now  widened  to  about  two  miles — the  shores  on 
the  eastern  side  broken,  scolloped,  and  barren  of  trees, 
with  nothing  of  verdure  but  grass ;  whilst  on  the  western, 
they  were  crowned  with  trees,  and  altogether  very  beau- 
tiful. 

Arriving  at  Du  Buque's,  sixty  miles  below  the  Prairie, 
we  stopped,  and  visited  his  grave.  This  grave  is  on  a 
high  bluff,  or  point  of  land,  formed  by  the  junction  of  the 
Black  river  with  the  Mississippi,  on  the  west  side  of  the 
latter.  A  village  of  Fox  Indians  occupied  the  low  lands, 
south  of  the  bluff — of  these  Indians  we  procured  the  guide 
who  piloted  us  to  Du  Buque's  last  resting  place.  The 
ascent  was  rather  fatiguing.  Over  the  grave  was  a  stone, 


132  MEMOIRS,  &c.,  &c. 

covered  with  a  roof  of  wood.  Upon  the  stone  was  a  cross, 
on  which  was  carved,  in  rude  letters — "  Julian  Du  Buque — 
died  24th  March,  1810 — aged  45  years"  Near  by,  was 
the  burial-spot  of  an  Indian  chief.  We  returned  to  our 
canoes,  embarked,  and  proceeded  sixteen  miles  further,  to 
Fever  river,  and  up  that  river  to  Galena,  arriving  after 
nightfall.  The  river  sent  forth  a  most  disagreeable  odor. 
It  appeared  to  be  the  very  hot-bed  of  bilious  fever.  At 
Galena,  I  visited  the  mines  and  smelting  establishments, 
at  that  time  in  their  infancy.  In  the  previous  July,  eight 
hundred  thousand  pounds  of  lead  had  been  smelted  ;  and 
perhaps  a  million  of  pounds  in  August. 

The  Winnebagoes  were  in  a  state  of  great  excitement, 
caused  by  the  intrusions  of  the  whites  on  their  lands. 
They  had,  after  having  remonstrated  for  a  long  time  in 
vain,  made  up  their  minds  to  endure  it  no  longer,  and  had 
so  informed  Mr.  Conner,  the  sub-agent.  A  warning  was 
circulated  among  the  miners,  who  replied,  "  We  have  the 
right  to  go  just  where  we  please."  Everything  appeared 
threatening.  Two  thousand  persons  were  said  to  be  over 
the  lines,  as  intruders,  upon  lands  belonging  to  the  Indians. 
The  Indians  had  fallen  back,  and  sent  word  to  the  sub- 
agent  that  "  he  would  see  them  no  more" — meaning,  as 
friends. 

The  white  population  were  supposed  to  be  at  that  time 
from  three  to  five  thousand,  the  larger  portion  at  Galena. 
At  least  fifteen  hundred,  alarmed  for  their  safety,  caused 
by  the  apprehended  disturbances,  had  quit  the  country. 
There  appeared  to  be  no  time  to  lose  ;  and  as  justice  was 
all  these  harrassed  people  desired,  I  adopted  measures,  at 
once,  to  secure  it  to  them,  by  restoring  to  them  their  right- 
ful possessions.  A  general  return  to  a  peaceful  order  of 
things  immediately  ensued. 

This  overt  act,  this  trespass  on  their  grounds,  was  the  egg 
out  of  which  the  Black  Hawk  war  was  hatched.  There  was 
no  necessity  for  that  war,  when,  some  few  years  after,  it  did 


MEMOIRS,  &c.,  &c.  133 

break  out.  It  was  only  needed  that  the  same  justice  should 
be  continued  to  the  Indians ;  the  same  regard  shown  to 
their  rights,  and  that  war  would  never  have  occurred.  At 
the  time  it  broke  out,  the  places  that  had  hitherto  been 
filled  by  those  whose  experience  had  fitted  them  for  the 
rightful  and  harmonious  adjustment  of  such  difficulties, 
were  filled  with  strangers.  Hence  the  Black  Hawk  war ; 
and  hence,  also,  the  Seminole  war.  Injustice  and  bad 
faith,  combined  with  the  absence  of  the  needed  intelli- 
gence, and  that  indispensable  pre-requisite,  experience — 
were  the  causes  of  both  these  wars,  and  of  the  waste  of  the 
blood  and  treasure  that  attended  upon  them  ;  but  the  loss 
of  this  blood,  and  of  this  treasure,  could  be  endured,  if,  in 
the  origin,  and  progress,  and  termination  of  these  wars, 
the  national  honor  had  not  been  tarnished,  and  our  name, 
as  a  people  and  nation,  held  up  to  the  civilized  world  as 
unjust — cruel — and  treacherous.  It  is  painful  to  recur,  even 
thus  slightly,  to  the  history  of  those  wars — and,  for  the 
present,  I  pass  on,  first  recording  my  judgment  against 
them,  against  their  necessity,  and  against  the  policy  that 
originated  them  ;  as  well  as  against  the  measures  that  were 
adopted  for  carrying  them  on. 

I  found  rents  at  Galena  enormously  high — the  certain 
index  of  prosperous  times.  One  log  house,  one  story  high, 
sixteen  feet  by  twenty,  I  was  told,  rented  for  thirty-five  dol- 
lars a  month.  Another,  in  which  the  tavern  was  kept,  also 
of  logs,  fifty  feet  by  twenty,  rented  for  one  thousand  dollars 
per  annum  !  The  village  consisted  of  about  two  hundred 
houses,  all  small,  and  all  ranged  almost  against  the  west- 
ern bank  of  the  river — the  river  being  narrowed,  at  this 
point,  to  a  mere  stream.  The  reader  will  bear  in  mind 
that  I  am  describing  Galena  as  it  was  in  1827. 

Left  Galena  at  three,  P.  M. ;  proceeded  twenty  miles, 
and  encamped.  Evening  cool ;  morning  also  very  cool ; 
wind  fair  and  free.  Embarked  at  six,  A.  M. ;  run  up  a 
little  sail,  and  took  in  paddles.  Ran  twenty-three  miles  in 


134  MEMOIRS,  &c.,  &c. 

three  hours.  Breakfasted  at  nine,  and  at  five,  P.  M.,  reached 
Fort  Armstrong,  having  run,  since  six  in  the  morning,  six- 
ty-five miles.  Numerous  villages  of  Fox  Indians  on  our 
route.  Found  a  large  number  of  this  tribe  at  Rock  Island. 
This  spot  is  one  of  most  enchanting  beauty.  The  fort 
occupies  a  rocky  elevation  on  the  west  side  of  the  island, 
and  at  some  thirty  feet  above  the  level  of  the  river. 
The  officers'  quarters  front  west,  and  from  these  a  view 
opens,  caused  by  a  bend  in  the  river,  that  cheats  one  into 
the  belief  that  what  is  seen  of  water  is  a  beautiful  lake,  of 
about  three  miles  one  way,  by  half  that  distance  the  other. 
The  hills  on  the  opposite  shore  are  high,  and  of  great 
beauty ;  sloping  down  to  the  river  with  a  grace  so  easy,  as 
to  captivate  the  eye  of  every  beholder.  They  are  thick 
set,  down  to  their  bases,  with  the  richest  grasses,  unob- 
structed by  undergrowth,  and  unbroken  by  ravines,  seem- 
ing to  my  eye  to  have  been  cut  only  a  short  time  before, 
by  some  skilful  hand,  and  left,  as  well-shaven  grass  will, 
wearing  the  appearance  of  velvet.  I  was  never  weary  in 
looking  at  this  rich  scene.  We  were  entertained  by  the 
garrison  with  great  hospitality. 

Embarked  the  12th  of  September,  at  six,  A.  M.  Weather 
cool  and  cloudy;  wind  ahead,  and  blowing  fresh.  En- 
camped at  sun-down.  Thursday,  13th,  at  half-past  six,  A. 
M.,  put  out  against  a  strong  head-wind.  The  river  wide, 
and  quite  ocean-like,  rolling  its  huge  waves  into  billows, 
whose  tops  were  whitened  with  foam.  The  current  and 
wind  being  opposed,  caused  this  roughness ;  and  yet, 
against  this  wind,  and  amidst  these  billows,  we  made  fifty 
miles,  encamping  that  evening  three  miles  above  Rapide 
Des  Moine.  The  world  seemed  everywhere  filled  with 
mosquitoes !  There  was  no  escaping  from  them ;  and  in 
fierceness  and  venom,  they  surpassed  their  more  northern 
kindred  of  Lake  Superior.  Up  with  the  dawn,  the  next 
morning,  and  out  upon  the  broad  waters,  where  the  rapids 
commence.  There  was  something  life-like  in  these  rapids, 


MEMOIRS,   &c.,  &c.  135 

as  contrasted  with  the  usually  smooth  current  of  the 
river. 

It  was  not  the  animation  of  the  rapids,  only,  that  proved 
inspiring  to  us,  but  the  superadded  feeling  caused  by  our 
having  reached  the  line  where  the  civilized  and  savage  lim- 
its meet.  The  fruits  of  the  labor  of  the  hardy  pioneer 
now  began  to  greet  us,  in  the  sight  of  here  and  there  a  log 
cabin,  with  its  flaxen-headed  urchins,  and  the  hardy,  and 
sun-burnt,  and  coarse-clad  parents.  And  here,  too,  we 
began  to  hear  the  lowing  of  cattle,  and  to  see  the  half- 
tamed  horses  and  hogs,  and  to  be  charmed  with  the  sing- 
ing of  birds.  How  natural  were  these  sounds,  and  how 
sweet !  How  composing  was  all  this ;  and  how  rapidly 
arose  the  associations  of  civilization,  of  refinement,  and 
of  home  !  How  all  this  hushed  the  feelings  !  We  passed 
the  steamboat  Mexico,  of  Cincinnati,  at  stationary  moor- 
ings— she  having,  in  ascending  the  river,  about  three  weeks 
before,  struck  a  rock,  and  sunk.  Four  miles  lower  down 
was  another,  the  Pilot.  She  had  parted  her  cables,  and 
gone  ashore. 

Fort  Edwards  was  now  in  view.  It  occupies  a  bluff  on 
the  Mississippi,  of  some  eighty  or  one  hundred  feet  above 
the  level  of  the  river.  Here  we  landed,  and  breakfasted, 
having  come  about  twenty-three  miles.  The  opening  into 
the  rapids,  ten  miles  above  Fort  Edwards,  is  beautiful. 
The  river  is  wide,  and  the  cultivation  on  the  Illinois  shore 
is  grateful  to  the  eye — for  there  the  dottings  of  civilized 
life,  which  had  begun  to  cheer  us  above,  had  thickened  into 
a  more  general  combination  of  the  cultivated  scenery ;  and 
man,  and  beast,  and  nature,  all  seemed  to  have  undergone 
a  cleansing,  and  been  subjected  to  the  hand  of  the  artist,  in 
all  the  variety  of  the  civilized  exterior.  The  birds  were 
the  same,  but  more  numerous,  and  apparently  more  gay 
and  happy.  How  man  can  make  war  upon  these  sweet 
songsters,  and  stop,  in  wanton  sport,  so  much,  and  such 
variety  of  music  as  they  pour  forth ;  and  who  do  not  con- 


136  MEMOIRS,  &c.,  &c. 

tribute  with  their  notes,  only,  to  regale  him,  but  assist  him, 
also,  in  his  crops,  in  both  field  and  garden,  by  devouring 
the  worms  and  insects  that  tend  to  make  both  barren,  I 
could  never  conceive.  Such  a  war  upon  this  interesting 
portion  of  God's  creation,  always  indicated,  to  me,  the  ab- 
sence of  the  better  feelings  of  human  nature,  and  its  ap- 
proximation to  cruelty,  in  all  other  things. 

"  I  would  not  enter  on  my  list  of  friends, 
(Though  grac'd  with  polish'd  manners,  and  fine  sense, 
Yet  wanting  sensibility,)  the  man 
Who  needlessly  sets  foot  upon  a  worm." 

Leaving  Fort  Edwards,  we  took  the  right  of  the  river, 
and  into  a  channel  varying  from  one-half  to  a  mile  in 
width.  The  water  was  calm ;  the  hills  on  the  western  side 
high  and  rolling.  A  fringe  of  low  ground  stretched  along 
our  left,  whilst  in  the  middle  of  the  river,  an  island  of  great 
beauty  stood  full  in  our  view.  When  I  first  saw  this  island, 
it  resembled  a  castle,  with  three  distinctly  formed  terraces, 
and  as  many  turrets,  each  terrace  about  twenty-five  feet 
above  the  other.  Beyond,  and  upon  its  right  and  left,  the 
eye  passed  far  onward  over  the  waters,  till  it  rested  on  dis- 
tant mountains,  that  seemed  like  blue  mist  curtaining  the 
further  distance  from  view ;  the  nearer  waters  reflecting 
the  scenery  from  their  mirror  face,  made  green  by  the 
foliage  medium  through  which  the  light  passed.  Every- 
thing was  tranquil  here,  and  a  sober  grandeur  rested  on 
castle,  woods,  and  water,  till,  presently,  the  castle-like  form 
began  to  lose  its  distinctness,  turret  after  turret  disappear- 
ing, with  the  magic-like  removal  of  the  terraces,  when  the 
island  stood  forth  divested  of  its  formidable  aspect,  simple, 
and  true  to  nature ;  and  with  this  change  were  lost,  also, 
the  associations  to  which  its  first  appearance  gave  rise,  as 
light  clouds  melt  into  the  air,  and  disappear. 

"  'Twas  distance  lent  enchantment  to  the  view." 

Encamped  on  an  island  five  miles  below,  and,  as  is  my 


MEMOIRS,  &c.,  &c.  137 

custom,  took  to  the  water,  and  bathed.  It  was  somewhere 
about  here,  when,  seeing  a  light  on  the  Illinois  shore,  away 
off  in  the  woods,  that  I  concluded  to  pass  over  to  it,  climb 
up  the  ascent,  and  purchase  some  milk,  and  other  neces- 
saries. The  night  was  dark.  Ben,  having  reached  the 
cultivated  region,  and  being  now  within  sight  of  houses, 
and  fields,  and  of  domestic  animals,  was  nothing  loth  to 
accompany  me.  We  reached  the  place,  and  commenced 
the  ascent.  When  at  the  top,  the  light  seemed  to  have 
receded,  but  was  still  visible  in  the  distance,  through  a 
thick  foliage.  The  undergrowth  was  heavy  and  tangled, 
and  our  way  was  impeded  by  the  darkness,  and  by  the 
brush-wood  which  lay  scattered  over  the  ground,  in  all  di- 
rections ;  but,  keeping  my  eye  upon  the  light,  I  continued 
on,  for  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile,  when  I  found  we  were  in 
a  clearing.  The  bodies  of  huge  trees  lay  in  all  directions, 
between  which  the  earth  had  been  disturbed,  and  the  crop 
was  growing.  I  knew  this  to  be  a  new  settlement.  Pres- 
ently the  dogs  began  to  bark,  when  a  tall,  gaunt  man  came 
to  the  door,  demanding  to  know  "  who  comes  there  ?"  A 
friend,  I  answered.  "  Advance  !"  The  dogs  were  called 
off,  whilst  he  stood  in  the  door-way  to  receive  me.  "  Two 
of  you,  I  see."  Yes,  sir ;  this  is  my  servant.  "  Ah,  from 
the  States,  I  suppose  ?"  Yes,  sir. 

I  had  observed,  in  my  advances  to  the  house,  through 
the  only  window  in  it,  a  woman  of  large  size,  who  ap- 
peared to  be  seated,  and  around  about  her  the  tops  of  the 
heads  of  some  half  dozen  children,  their  hair  standing,  as 
if  in  fright.  Now  and  then,  I  could  see  their  hands  rise 
and  fall,  with  quick  motions ;  whilst  the  head,  and  neck, 
and  shoulders  of  the  woman,  being  all  visible,  I  could  see 
and  comprehend  better  the  meaning  of  her  movements, 
which  were  like  those  indicated  by  the  children.  I  could 
see  her  strike  her  face,  and  then  her  neck,  first  with  one 
hand,  and  then  the  other,  the  hands  of  the  children,  as  I 
have  said,  being  in  constant  motion,  performing,  as  I  sup- 

VOL.   I.  18 


138  MEMOIRS,   &c.,  &c. 

posed,  corresponding  ceremonies.  It  was  a  perfect  panto- 
mime, which  did  not,  however,  explain  itself.  But  on  en- 
tering, I  saw  they  were  all  busy  in  warring  with  the  mos- 
quitoes, against  whose  bites  I  was  guarded  by  a  green  veil 
over  my  face,  a  cloth  coat  and  pantaloons,  boots,  and  thick 
leather  gloves. 

My  great  object  was  to  get  some  milk.  Those  only  who 
have  been  brought  up  where  this  article  of  diet  abounds, 
and  are  then  separated  from  it,  for  a  length  of  time,  know 
how  strong  the  desire  becomes  to  taste  it  again.  "  Sit  up, 
sit  up,  stranger,  and  join  us,"  said  the  hardy  settler.  I  had 
noticed,  on  coming  into  the  room,  a  large  wooden  bowl  in 
the  middle  of  the  table,  with  the  handle  of  a  wooden  ladle 
lying  on  the  rim — the  lower  part  being  buried  in  some- 
thing, I  knew  not  what ;  and  yet,  when  one  and  another 
of  the  children  were  to  be  helped,  and  I  saw  the  thick, 
dark  surface  disturbed,  there  was  milk  brought  up  from 
beneath  it.  Just  as  I  was  about  joining  the  repast,  my  eye 
being  on  the  constant  slapping  of  the  mother  and  the  chil- 
dren of  their  own  faces,  and  hands,  and  necks,  I  saw,  at 
every  stroke,  the  crippled  and  wing-broken  mosquitoes 
falling  into  the  big  bowl,  and  that  the  beverage  they  were 
all  eating  with  so  much  gout,  was,  sure  enough,  milk,  heav- 
ily sprinkled  with  crippled  and  dead  mosquitoes — when  I 
excused  myself  on  the  ground  of  haste,  asking  if  I  could 
be  obliged  with  a  few  dozen  of  eggs ;  my  milk  mania  hav- 
ing been  effectually  cured. 

During  the  absence  of  the  man  to  get  the  eggs,  I  re 
marked  to  the  woman — You  appear,  madam,  to  have  a 
good  many  mosquitoes  here.     "  What !"  she  said,  with  a 
look  of  surprise,  still  slapping  her  face,  and  neck,  and  shoul- 
ders, the  children  being  no  less  busy  in  the  same  way- 
"  what !  mosquitoes  ?     You  don't  call  what  we  have  here, 
in  this  clearing,  many,  do  you  ?     If  you  had  stopped  in  that 
bend  just   above  here,  about   forty   miles,  I   guess    you 
wouldn't  call  what  few  we  have  here,  many" 


MEMOIRS,   &c.,  &c.  139 

The  eggs  having  been  procured,  paid  for,  and  handed 
over  to  Ben,  we  made  our  way  back  to  the  canoe  and  our 
camp.  "  Did  you  ever  see  such  a  fight,  before  ?"  inquired 
Ben,  as  we  entered  the  woods.  "  And  then  the  milk,  how 
it  was  covered  with  the  dead  ones.  Well,  give  me  Wash- 
ington," he  continued,  "  or  any  other  place  in  the  old  set- 
tlements, in  preference  to  these  new  countries.  But  there 
don't  seem  to  be  any  Indians  along  here."  I  told  him 
we  should  have  the  pleasure  of  seeing  a  goodly  number, 
before  we  should  see  Washington.  "  Not  wild  ones,  I 
hope,  sir." 

Saturday,  15th,  embarked  at  day-light.  Made  a  call  at 
Louisiana,  a  little  town,  thirty  miles  below  our  encamp- 
ment, and  after  taking  breakfast  on  the  beach,  walked  to 
the  town,  hoping  to  find  some  newspapers — another  article 
after  which  one  who  has  been  accustomed  to  their  daily 
presence,  is  no  less  hungry,  when  deprived  of  them  for 
several  months,  than  for  milk.  I  found  there  about  half  a 
bushel  of  Duff  Green's  Telegraph,  directed  to  numerous 
persons,  who  had  not,  for  some  reason,  as  the  man  told 
me,  called  for  them.  As  many  of  these  as  I  wanted,  were 
placed  at  my  disposal.  Taking  a  few,  and  being  favored 
with  some  of  another  quality,  making  up  quite  an  assort- 
ment, I  proceeded  on  to  Clarksville,  which  is  about  one 
hundred  miles  above  St.  Louis.  I  literally  devoured  the 
newspapers ;  and  every  name  I  saw  that  was  known  to  me 
about  Washington,  and  elsewhere,  seemed  to  be  invested 
with  new  charms.  I  read  every  article,  in  every  paper, 
and  even  the  advertisements,  and  many  of  them  over  and 
over  again.  No  wonder  Selkirk  sighed  as  he  did  after 

"  Society,  friendship,  and  love." 

ZIMMERMAN,  I  know,  has  invested  solitude  with  charms ; 
but  to  one  who,  like  myself,  had  been  in  its  midst,  and  who 
also  knew  what  was  included  in  "  society"  and  "friendship" 
and,  I  suppose,  I  might  as  well  say  " love"  there  could  be 


140  MEMOIRS,  &c.,  «fec. 

no  time  required  to  weigh  the  attractions  of  the  two  con- 
ditions, unless,  indeed,  as  some  one  has  said,  a  beloved 
one  was  present,  when  in  solitude,  to  whom  I  might  say, 

"  How  charming  is  solitude  !" 

At  Clarksville  I  essayed  to  procure  something  fresh  to 
eat — but  could  find  nothing  but  eggs.  Thirty  miles  lower 
down,  we  saw,  on  a  small  island,  at  least  three  hundred 
pelicans.  They  were  so  numerous  as  literally  to  cover 
the  island,  giving  to  it  (the  island  was  a  sand  island,  with 
nothing  of  vegetation  growing  out  of  it,)  the  appearance  of 
being  covered  with  snow.  The  rage  for  shooting  what- 
ever came  in  their  way,  had  seized  the  count,  and  the  rest  of 
my  companions,  including  Ben,  when  nothing  would  do 
but  to  have  a  shot  at  them.  The  bird,  I  knew,  was  as 
useless  as  it  was  harmless.  But  no  remonstrance  could 
divert  them  from  their  purpose,  when  they  were  landed 
amidst  the  undergrowth  of  a  contiguous  island^  from  the 
point  of  which  they  fired — killing  three,  and  winging  two. 
The  winged  ones  were  brought  on  board  the  canoe,  and 
being  not  much  injured,  I  concluded  to  take  them  to  St. 
Louis  ;  and,  if  I  could,  to  Washington. 

Encamped  at  eight  at  night,  forty  miles  above  St.  Louis ; 
and  succeeded  there  in  procuring  some  fresh  supplies,  in- 
cluding milk.  This  being  in  bottles,  to  keep  it  cool,  I  tied 
cords  around  the  bottles'  necks,  and  fastening  these  to  the 
canoe,  towed  them  after  us.  Here,  too,  we  were  so 
lucky  as  to  get  some  peaches.  What  delicious  fare ! 
The  apprehension  of  a  border  war,  proceeding  from  the 
Prairie  du  Chien  murders,  had  just  reached  these  settlers, 
who  fled  at  the  approach  of  our  canoe,  as  would  children 
from  an  apparition.  The  wildest  panic  had  seized  the 
entire  population !  One  entire  family,  on  seeing  us  ap- 
proaching the  shore,  were  with  difficulty  kept  from  run- 
ning away,  leaving  their  all  behind  them — not  doubting  but 
we  were  Indians. 


MEMOIRS,  &c.,  dec.  .41 

At  five  next  morning,  embarked,  and  ran  twenty-two 
miles,  when  we  landed  for  breakfast.  A  settler  came  to 
our  encampment.  I  asked  if  he  could  supply  me  with 
some  milk.  He  answered — "  We  don't  use  it."  I  asked 
why  ?  "  The  people,"  he  replied,  "  about  these  parts,  were 
afraid  of  the  milk-sick ;  and  never  used  milk  after  early 
spring.  They  do  not  even  permit  the  calves  to  suck  it; 
if  they  do,  the  calves  die,  as  well  as  the  people."  I  sought 
information  touching  the  nature  of  this  "  milk-sick,"  and 
to  find  out  what  it  was  that,  after  "  early  spring,"  impart- 
ed such  deleterious  qualities  to  the  milk  of  cows — but 
found  my  settler  not  one  of  the  sort  out  of  whom  answers 
to  such  abstract  questions  could  be  extracted.  All  he 
knew  was,  that,  after  a  certain  season,  those  who  partook 
of  cow's  milk,  whether  human  beings  or  calves,  were  made 
sick,  and  many  died  from  the  use  of  it.  I  interpreted  the 
poisonous  quality  of  the  milk  to  be  produced  by  some 
weed  that  was  indigenous  to  these  parts,  which  the  cows 
ate ;  and  I  suppose  that  to  be  the  fact.  It  was  fortunate 
that  the  man  had  come  to  our  camp  ;  for  Ben,  seeing  some 
cows  in  the  distance,  was  just  about  to  put  off,  to  take, 
sans  ceremonie,  as  much  milk  as  his  bucket  would  hold. 


H2  MEMOIRS,   &c.,  &c 


CHAPTER  VII. 

SOJOURN   AT  ST.  LOUIS.      PASSAGE    DOWN    THE    MISSISSIPPI. 
HARD  JOURNEY  FROM  MEMPHIS  TO  CHICKASAW  BLUFFS. 

Mouth  of  the  Missouri — A  toast — The  French  count — Meeting  of  the  waters — 
St.  Louis — General  Clark — Hospitalities — Sudden  illness  of  the  count — Kind- 
ness of  Mrs.  Clark — Departure  and  destination — Compagnons  de  voyage — 
Screw-mills — The  channel  ever  shifting — Abrasion  of  the  banks  of  the  Missis- 
sippi— A  town  falling  into  the  river — The  cause  explained — Sawyers — Plant- 
era — Duty  of  government  to  remove  them — Profits  of  two  acres  of  onions — 
Memphis — Journey  to  the  Chickasaw  bluffs — Missionary  stations — Drunken 
Indians — Power  of  General  Jackson's  name — Halt  in  the  middle  of  a  stream — 
Ti-esh-ka — Tockshish — Monroe — Barren  tract  of  country — Arrival  at  Col- 
bert's— An  Indian's  gratitude  and  regard — Designs  of  the  government  at  that 
time — Different  principles  afterwards  adopted — Jeremiah  Evarts,  and  his  papers, 
signed  "William  Penn"— A  "  blow-gun"— Counting  time— "  Red-sticks" — 
Anecdote  of  Tecumthe — Preparations  for  the  grand  council. 

AT  half-past  twelve,  we  were  opposite,  indeed  in,  the 
mouth  of  the  Missouri  river.  This  being  the  first  time 
I  had  seen  this  river,  I  directed  the  voyagers  to  fetch 
a  compass,  and  go  into  it.  When  upon  its  waters,  un- 
mixed with  those  of  the  Mississippi,  the  paddles  were 
taken  in,  and  all  were  at  rest.  While  thus  stationary, 
there  remaining,  as  reported  by  Ben,  one  bottle  of  claret 
wine,  of  the  stores  that  I  had  taken  with  me  from  New 
York,  I  directed  the  cork  to  be  drawn — "  the  sun  being," 
in  nautical  parlance, "  past  the  foreyard,"  and  told  all  hands 
to  prepare  for  a  sentiment — voyagers,  Ben,  and  all.  On 
filling  our  cups — a  few  of  us  had  tumblers — I  gave,  "  The 
memory  of  Napoleon  Le  Grand" — a  compliment  I  thought 
due  to  my  guest,  the  count,  who  had  served  under  that 
great  captain.  I  had  scarcely  given  utterance  to  the  senti- 


MEMOIRS,  <fcc.,  &c.  143 

ment,  when  the  count  cried  out — "  Stop,  stop,  Monsieur 
Le  Colonel,  one  moment,  if  you  please.  Benjamin,  hand 
me  the  brandy.  The  wine  is  good,  but  not  strong  enough 
for  that  sentiment."  When  pouring  his  wine  into  Ben's  cup, 
he  said, "  Now  colonel,  with  all  my  heart ;"  when,  standing 
in  our  bark  canoe,  in  the  mouth  of  the  Missouri  river,  we 
drank  to  the  memory  of  "  Napoleon  Le  Grand ;"  and  by  the 
count  it  was  done  with  a  gout  that  told,  in  language  not  to 
be  mistaken,  how  undying  was  the  devotion  of  the  French 
to  the  memory  of  their  great  idol. 

I  beg  to  make,  here,  a  short  digression.  Being  in  my 
office  in  the  War  Department,  one  day,  the  door  was 
thrown  open  by  my  messenger,  when  a  remarkably  fine- 
looking  young  gentleman  entered.  He  advanced  to  me, 
saying,  "  Colonel  McKenney,  I  believe  ?"  Yes,  sir.  He 
drew  from  his  pocket  a  letter  directed  to  me,  saying, "  From 
Doctor  Black,  of  Nova  Scotia."  The  object  of  the  letter 
was  to  introduce  to  me  this  young  Englishman,  named 
STAR.*  From  his  brilliant  and  animated  countenance,  and 
fine,  manly  form,  he  appeared  to  be  appropriately  named. 
Having  read  the  letter  from  my  venerable  friend,  who  was 
a  bishop,  I  believe,  in  Nova  Scotia,  I  said  to  Mr.  Star, 
You  will  do  me  the  honor  of  dining  with  me  to-day,  at  five 
o'clock  ?  He  declined,  urging  that  "  he  had  come  all  the 
way  from  his  home  to  gratify  a  single  feeling ;  that  the 
ship  in  which  he  had  arrived  was  at  New  York,  and  nearly 
ready  to  sail ;  and  that  all  the  time  he  had  at  his  command 
he  must  devote  to  the  sole  object  which  had  brought  him 
here — and  that  was  to  visit  what  was  once  the  home  of 
the  greatest  and  best  man  that  had  ever  lived,  and  the  tomb 
that  contains  his  remains.  I  need  not  say,  sir,  that  I  re- 
fer to  your  WASHINGTON  ;  nor  that  my  call  on  you  is  to 
obtain  counsel  as  to  the  best  and  speediest  route  to  Mount 
Vernon."  The  Supreme  Court  was  then  in  session ;  so  I 
wrote  a  line  to  Judge  Washington,  asking  for  this  young 
Englishman  a  permit,  dec.,  dec.  My  messenger  was  des- 

*  Hon.  J.  Leander  Star,  subsequently  member  of  the  council  of  her  majesty  in  Nova  Scotia. 


144  MEMOIRS,   &c.,  &c. 

patched  to  the  Capitol,  who  soon  returned  with  a  note  from 
the  judge  to  his  major-domo,  the  substance  of  which  was, 
to  refuse  the  bearer  no  request  he  might  make. 

The  moment  young  Star  had  run  his  eye  over  tne  note, 
he  sprang  from  his  chair,  rubbed  his  hands,  his  eyes  spark- 
ling with  delight,  and,  with  many  acknowledgments,  started 
for  Mount  Vernon,  by  the  way  which  had  been,  meantime, 
agreed  upon. 

The  next  day  he  returned,  called  on  me,  repeating  his 
acknowledgments,  and  charmed  with  his  visit.  Availing 
himself  of  the  judge's  note,  he  had  made  two  "  requests" — 
one  was,  to  be  admitted  into  the  room  in  which  General 
Washington  died,  and  the  other  to  visit  the  tomb  where 
reposed  his  remains.  A  pause  in  the  major-domo,  for  a 
moment,  produced  a  fear  that  these  requests  could  not  be 
complied  with ;  but  the  note  being  looked  at,  they  were. 
On  entering  the  tomb,  and  the  coffin  being  pointed  out  to 
Mr.  Star,  that  contained  the  remains  of  Washington,  he 
put  his  hand  on  its  breast,  and  on  a  sprig  of  arbor  vitce, 
which  he  took  from  its  resting-place,  saying,  "  Can  I  take 
this  ?"  If  you  request  it,  was  the  answer.  It  was  placed 
there,  (pointing  to  the  spot  where  it  had  lain,)  by  General 
Lafayette,  on  his  visit  to  this  tomb ;  and,  till  now,  the  door 
has  never  since  been  opened. 

Meantime,  taking  the  sprig  of  evergreen  from  his 
pocket-book,  he  said,  "  This  is  it,  sir — this  is  it.  What 
a  relic !  From  the  breast  of  the  coffin  of  Washington, 
and  put  there  by  Lafayette !"  The  treasure  was  care- 
fully returned  to  its  place  of  safe-keeping ;  when  this  fine 
youth,  declining  all  further  offers  of  civility,  left  me,  look- 
ing as  if  the  circle  of  his  happiness  was  now  completed,  and 
as  though  no  other  incident  of  his  life  were  needed  to  make 
it  more  perfect. 

The  French  count  had  lavished  his  heart's  best  feelings, 
as  was  meet  he  should,  over  the  memory  of  the  great  cap- 
tain under  whom  he  had  been  led  to  victory ;  whilst  the 


MEMOIRS,  &c.,  &c.  145 

young  Englishman  revelled  in  the  fame,  and  gloried  in  the 
patriotism  and  purity  of  our  Washington. 

The  waters  of  the  Missouri  contrast  strongly  with  those 
of  the  Mississippi,  being  clay  color ;  whilst  those  of  the 
Mississippi  are  lighter  and  brighter.  There  were  floating 
about,  and  being  driven  with  the  current  of  the  Missis- 
sippi, numerous  fragments  of  trees,  which  made  it  neces- 
sary, whilst  in  their  midst,  to  guard  well  our  canoe  of 
bark,  from  being  crushed  by  them.  The  waters  of  the 
Missouri,  when  there  is  anything  of  a  descent,  drive  those 
of  the  Mississippi  far  across  to  the  Illinois  shore,  and 
would  seem  to  be  the  master-river  of  the  two — where,  by  a 
well  defined  line,  each  is  separated  from  the  other,  and 
continue  so  for  many  miles,  when  the  clay  color  of  the 
Missouri  at  last  becomes  blended  with  the  less  turbid 
Mississippi.  Still,  a  perfect  commingling  is  not  consum- 
mated, until  they  pass  St.  Louis,  some  forty  miles  below, 
when  the  color  of  the  Missouri  water  is  lost,  and  the  Missis- 
sippi carries  what  would  seem  to  be  its  own  tribute  to  the 
Gulf  of  Mexico,  and  onward  to  the  "  deep  blue  sea." 

The  mouth  of  the  Missouri,  at  its  junction  with  the 
Mississippi,  is  about  a  mile  wide — my  eye  being  judge — 
the  lands  on  both  sides  are  flat,  and  quite  unbecoming  the 
noble  river  which  passes  out  between  them.  There  are 
heights  some  eight  miles  back  of  the  mouth  of  the  river. 
Upon  part  of  these,  Bell  Fountaine  is  situated,  and  this  is 
the  only  object  of  a  bold  nature  that  greets  the  eye  around 
this  place. 

Landed  at  St.  Louis,  at  three,  P.  M.  We  were  met  and 
greeted  by  many ;  and  among  them,  by  that  good  man,  and 
faithful  public  officer,  General  William  Clark,  whose  name 
has  acquired  celebrity  as  the  companion  and  fellow-travel- 
ler of  Lewis,  in  the  expedition  planned  by  Mr.  Jefferson, 
to  the  Rocky  Mountains,  and  the  Columbia  river.  Quar- 
ters having  been  arranged  for  me  at  General  Clark's, 
my  companions  and  myself  parted  company,  they  occu- 

VOL.   I.  19 


146  MEMOIRS,   &c.,  &c. 

pying  rooms  at  the  hotel.  Dined  at  Camp  Jefferson, 
with  Colonel  Leavenworth  and  others.  The  civilities  of 
those  hospitable  people,  I  can  never  forget — those  of 
Colonel  John  O'Fallon,  and  his  brother,  Major  Benjamin 
O'Fallon,  were  made  especially  acceptable.  With  the 
latter  I  made  excursions  round  the  country  back  of  St. 
Louis,  and  saw  enough  to  satisfy  me  then,  that  St.  Louis 
was  destined  to  become  a  great  and  populous  city.  It  is 
yet  destined  to  outstrip  the  most  sanguine  anticipations  of 
those  who  look  farthest.  Nothing  can  be  more  beautiful  than 
is  the  country  back  of  the  city,  and  nothing  more  fruitful. 

A  party  was  made  at  General  Clark's,  to  which  we  were 
invited.  Going  over  to  the  count's  room  in  the  afternoon, 
I  found  him  seated  on  the  side  of  his  bed,  caparisoned  and 
ready  for  the  evening's  entertainment,  except  his  coat, 
which  lay  beside  him,  ornamented  with  the  insignia  of  his 
rank.  He  was  dressed  in  white  cassimere  shorts,  white 
silk  stockings,  and  shoes  mounted  with  buckles  set  in  dia- 
monds, a  rich  vest,  and  ruffled  shirt.  His  fine  black  hair, 
and  whiskers,  never  looked  so  well  before.  All  these,  with 
a  person  over  six  feet,  of  finely  proportioned  form,  seemed 
to  qualify  him,  together  with  his  rank  and  character,  to 
figure  with  eclat,  in  the  lovely  Mrs.  Clark's  drawing-room. 
But  all  this  exterior  was  lost  to  my  eye,  in  an  instant,  when, 
on  looking  at  his  countenance  and  complexion,  I  saw  he 
was  in  a  perilous  state !  I  put  my  finger  on  his  pulse, 
looked  at  his  tongue,  and  was  satisfied  nothing  could  save 
him  but  instant  bleeding. 

I  had  no  lancet  at  hand ;  but  calling  in  Ben,  I  directed 
him  to  assist  the  count  in  getting  to  bed,  whilst  I  went  out 
in  search  of  a  physician.  I  asked  everybody  for  a  doctor, 
and  desired  all  I  met  to  send  one,  forthwith,  to  the  hotel, 
and  to  the  count's  room — making  my  way  as  fast  as  I  could 
to  Doctor  Farrow's.  He  was  not  in ;  so  I  returned,  still 
looking  for  aid,  when  I  met  the  doctor,  (somebody  having 
despatched  him  to  the  hotel,)  coming  down  stairs.  I 


MEMOIRS,   &c.,  &c.  147 

asked  eagerly  after  the  count,  and  got  for  answer, "  His  case 
is  a  bad  one."  Did  you  bleed  him  ?  "  In  a  moment  after 
I  saw  him."  Will  he  recover ?  "I  hope  so."  This  im- 
plied doubt.  I  had  learned  to  love  the  count.  He  was, 
besides,  a  stranger,  and  far  from  home,  and  family,  and 
friends.  He  was  in  a  strange  land.  He  had  been  my  com- 
panion in  peril,  in  storm,  and  in  calm ;  and  he  was,  besides, 
a  glorious  fellow.  I  could  not  endure  the  thought  of  his 
dying.  I  sat  by  him — watched  him — ministered  to  him. 
Ben,  too,  was  all  attention.  The  next  day  the  disease  was 
broken,  and  the  symptoms  all  favorable.  I  was  to  leave 
on  the  22d,  but  delayed  till  the  24th.  The  count  being 
young  and  vigorous,  once  upon  a  level  with  his  disease, 
I  felt  sure  he  would  master  it. 

On  the  evening  of  the  23d,  Mrs.  Clark,  one  of  the  most 
estimable  of  women,  lovely,  and  beloved  by  everybody — 
(alas !  she  is  dead,  and  knows  nothing  of  what  I  am  re- 
cording to  her  memory,  nor  will  she  ever  know) — said  to 
me,  "  Your  friend,  the  count,  Doctor  Farrow  tells  me,  is 
sitting  up.  You  are  to  leave  to-morrow.  One  promise  I 
must  exact  of  you ;  and  that  is,  to  leave  your  friend  in  my 
care.  The  room  you  will  vacate  is  large  and  airy,  and 
better  suited  to  an  invalid  than  the  one  he  is  in.  Now  this 
is  my  plan.  Tell  him,  with  my  respects,  that,  the  day  be- 
ing favorable  to-morrow,  I  will  call  for  him  at  eleven 
o'clock,  and  take  him  riding  in  my  carriage,  and  give  him 
an  airing.  You  must  accompany  us.  While  we  are  gone, 
Ben  must  pack  up  his  trunks,  and  transfer  them  to  your 
room.  On  our  return,  I  will  stop  at  my  door.  We  must 
unite  our  invitations,  and  prevail  on  the  count  to  make  a 
call,  when  you  will  introduce  him  into  your  room.  There 
he  must  remain,  till  he  gets  well.  You  see  I  employ  the 
positive — MUST.  You  can  then  leave  with  more  quiet  of 
mind,  and  he  will  have  a  home,  and  friends  who  will  de- 
light in  attending  upon  him."  Never  did  woman's  loveli- 
ness break  forth  in  charms  so  captivating.  She  looked 


148  MEMOIRS,  &c.,  &c. 

like  an  angel.  I  could  scarcely  speak.  And  this,  I  could 
not  help  ejaculating,  is 

"Being  mindful  to  entertain  strangers." 

All  this  was  done  according  to  the  programme  of  this  ex- 
cellent lady,  and  the  count  put  in  possession  of  his  new 
abode. 

In  the  meantime,  I  had  taken  leave  of  the  estimable  Mr. 
Kinzie,  my  tried  friend,  clerk,  and  interpreter ;  and  of  my 
trusty  voyagers,  and  of  my  favorite  canoe,  having  seen 
them  off,  on  their  way  up  the  Illinois  river,  thence  on,  by 
the  way  of  Lakes  Michigan,  Huron,  and  Erie,  to  Detroit, 
where  they  all  arrived  safely.  My  destination  was,  by  the 
way  of  the  Mississippi,  to  the  Chickasaw  bluffs ;  thence 
through  the  country  of  the  Chickasaws,  Choctaws,  Chero- 
kees,  and  Creeks.  With  the  first  three  it  had  been  made 
my  duty  to  enter  into  conventional  arrangements,  for  an 
exchange  of  their  country,  east,  for  a  country  west  of  the 
Mississippi ;  and  with  the  latter,  to  negotiate  a  treaty  of 
cession  of  a  strip  of  land  which  remained  in  Georgia,  and 
by  this  means  put  to  rest  the  excitements  that  had  been  so 
long  kept  up  between  that  State  and  the  federal  govern- 
ment. Honest  and  earnest  efforts  had  been  made,  by  the 
federal  Executive,  to  satisfy  and  pacify  Georgia,  by  obtain- 
ing the  consent  of  the  Creek  Indians  to  relinquish  all  their 
claims  to  territory  within  that  State,  and  those  efforts  had 
proved  successful,  until  arrested  by  a  refusal  of  the  Indians 
to  relinquish  their  last  foothold ;  when  I  was  sent  on  this 
forlorn  hope,  without  resources  in  goods,  or  money,  or  re- 
sort of  any  sort,  even  for  the  expenses  attending  the  ex- 
periment, except  to  the  limited  provisions  of  the  contin- 
gent fund,  so  far  as,  in  my  discretion,  it  should  be  proper 
to  draw  upon  it. 

Taking  leave  of  my  hospitable  friends  of  St.  Louis,  and 
of  the  count,  I  embarked  at  four  o'clock,  P.  M.,  on  Mon- 
day, the  24th  September,  1827,  on  board  the  steamboat 


MEMOIRS,  &c.,  &c.  149 

Crusader.  At  a  quarter  past  four,  we  were  under  way. 
On  passing  General  Clark's  house,  the  windows  were  oc- 
cupied by  its  inmates,  and  among  them  I  caught  a  glimpse 
of  the  count's  face,  fine  black  head,  and  large  dark  eyes, 
all  expressive  of  the  courtesy  which  had  always  charac- 
terized this  polite  and  finished  gentleman.  A  moment 
passed  in  the  waving  of  handkerchiefs,  in  token  of  the 
parting,  and  the  boat,  impelled  by  her  wheels,  and  borne 
onward  by  the  current,  shut  from  my  view  all  these  kind 
manifestations,  and  I  was  once  more  on  the  bosom  of  this 
father  of  rivers ;  but  now  in  a  state  of  enlargement  from 
the  limits  of  my  canoe,  and  amidst  new,  and  some  of  it 
strange  company.  We  ran  eighteen  miles,  and  came  to 
for  wood,  and  for  the  night,  such  being  the  difficulty  of 
navigation  about  here,  as  to  render  any  attempt,  except  by 
day-light,  unsafe. 

The  boat  was  a  fine  one,  in  all  respects,  but  I  had  never 
before  travelled  with  such  company.  One  of  the  lower 
decks  was  appropriated,  from  stern  to  bow,  for  the  trans- 
portation of  live  stock.  Noah's  ark,  it  appeared  to  me, 
could  not  have  contained  a  greater  variety.  Horses,  cows, 
bullocks,  sheep,  calves,  hogs,  mules,  chickens,  geese,  tur- 
keys— in  a  word,  everything  that  had  life,  seemed  to  be 
there ;  and  all  were  so  huddled  together,  as  to  create  in 
each  a  feeling  of  self-protection  that  would,  every  now  and 
then,  break  out  into  acts  of  open  hostility,  accompanied 
by  the  cries  of  the  frightened  or  hurt,  so  as  to  make  of 
the  whole  a  perfect  Babel.  And  then  there  was  the  am- 
monia !  And  yet  the  boat,  in  all  other  respects,  was  first- 
rate,  and  the  accommodations  very  superior. 

I  noticed  along  the  shore  of  the  river  many  mills  that 
were  kept  going  by  a  screw  in  the  water,  operating  as  a 
propeller,  performing  a  similar  duty,  that  of  turning,  and 
acting  upon  the  same  principle  with  that  known  as  Erick- 
sorfs  propeller;  the  difference  being  in  the  motive  power,  or 
in  a  modification  of  it ;  the  mills  being  turned  by  the  cur- 


150  MEMOIRS,  &c.,  &c. 

rent  of  the  Mississippi  operating  upon  the  screw  that  was 
passed  into  it,  and  the  boats  by  a  similar  screw,  put  in 
motion  by  steam.  My  attention  was  arrested  by  the  con- 
stant change  in  the  direction  of  the  boat.  The  object,  I 
learned,  was  to  find  the  channel,  it  being  rarely  the  case 
that  a  boat  goes  down  to  New  Orleans  from  the  upper 
Mississippi,  and  back  again  in  the  same  channel.  The 
current  makes  the  channel,  and  the  current  is  made  con- 
stantly to  change,  by  the  undermining  action  of  the  water 
upon  the  banks  of  the  river,  and  the  falling  into  it  of  many 
acres  of  land  at  a  time,  and  by  the  lodgment  of  trees  and 
floating  matter  upon  sand-bars,  &c.  It  is  not  unusual  for 
a  log  house  of  the  settler,  after  having  stood  a  mile  from 
the  Mississippi  for  a  few  years,  to  find  itself,  by  the  gradual 
advances  of  the  river,  first  upon  its  bank,  and  next  a  wreck 
amidst  its  waters.  The  very  house  I  had  gone  to,  and  at 
which  I  witnessed  the  fight  with  the  mosquitoes,  furnished, 
almost,  an  example  of  this  sort ;  and  long  before  now,  I 
have  no  doubt,  it  has  been  floated  down  the  Mississippi. 
While  the  good  man  was  out  getting  the  eggs,  I  chanced 
to  say  something  of  these  invasions  of  the  river  upon  the 
land,  when  the  wife  answered,  "  Oh,  yes ;  Lord  bless  your 
soul,  old  Mississippi  does  just  what  he  pleases  with  the 
land.  When  John  first  made  this  clearing,  we  were  two 
miles  from  the  landing,  away  off  in  the  country,  and  that 
wasn't  over  two  years  ago ;  and  now  we're  a  little  over  a 
quarter  of  a  mile  from  the  river.  I  told  him  it  would  be 
so,  but  he  wouldn't  mind  me,  and  now  he  sees  I  am  right." 
Another  example.  New  Madrid  once  occupied  ground 
which,  at  the  time  I  passed  it,  was  the  main  channel  of 
the  river.  When  at  the  place,  Hon.  Mr.  S.,  whom  I  had 
known  as  a  member  of  Congress,  said  to  me,  "  We  are 
now  over  the  spot  once  occupied  by  New  Madrid.  That," 
pointing  to  a  house  near  the  shore, "  is  the  only  house  now 
left  of  those  that  once  (in  1805)  formed  the  town  of  New 
Madrid ;  and  yonder  barn,  that  was  then  three-quarters  of 


MEMOIRS,   &c.,  &c.  151 

a  mile  from  the  landing,  is,  as  you  see,  not  now  over  four 
hundred  yards  distant."  A  line  being  at  hand,  I  threw  it 
over,  but  found  no  bottom. 

This  New  Madrid,  the  reader  will  recollect,  had  been 
the  seat  of  an  earthquake,  I  believe  in  1812.  The  cause 
of  the  incursion  of  the  water  upon  the  land  was  before  me, 
at  this  place.  It  was  an  island  that  had  been  formed  by 
materials  brought  down  the  river,  and  lodged  in  shallow 
water  opposite  New  Madrid,  forming  a  nucleus  for  sand, 
and  sediment,  and  trees,  &c.,  &c.,  till,  in  the  lapse  of  time, 
it  became  an  island.  The  current  striking  against  it,  was 
changed  in  its  course,  and  thrown  diagonally  across  the 
river,  and  against  the  bank  on  which  the  town  was  built, 
and  there  it  ran,  till  the  ground  was  undermined,  caved  in, 
and  carried  away,  to  form  some  new  deposit,  or  some 
new  island ;  or,  if  it  should  not  be  thus  disposed  of,  to  en- 
large the  Delta  at  the  mouth  of  the  Mississippi.  The 
river,  where  New  Madrid  once  stood,  was  about  a  mile 
wide ;  it  may,  from  the  causes  stated,  be  now  wider  or 
narrower. 

We  passed  innumerable  sawyers,  engaged  in  that  per- 
petual swing,  from  side  to  side,  caused  by  the  action  of 
the  current  upon  them ;  from  which  motion  they  derive 
their  name.  They  are  formed  by  trees,  that  fall,  frequently 
by  acres  at  a  time,  with  the  soil  in  which  they  grew,  into 
the  water,  as  I  have  stated,  and  these  are  brought  down 
the  Missouri  and  Mississippi,  with  others  from  numerous 
other  rivers  which  empty  into  them,  and  floated  in  every 
direction,  till  the  roots  become  impeded,  when  sediment 
and  drift-wood  form  around,  and  fix  them  deeply  and  firmly 
at  bottom,  their  upper  ends  being  above  the  water.  A  de- 
scending vessel  will  pass  over  these  sawyers  without  inju- 
ry. The  tree  yields  under  the  pressure  of  the  boat;  and, 
when  relieved  from  that  pressure  by  being  gone  over,  rises 
with  a  rebound,  throwing  a  large  portion  of  its  length  out 


152  MEMOIRS,  &c.,  &c. 

of  the  water ;  when,  presently,  it  resumes  its  swinging  or 
sawing  motion,  as  before. 

Planters  are  trees,  also ;  and,  like  sawyers,  are  also  firm 
set  at  bottom,  but  are  either  too  short  to  be  seen  above 
water,  or  have  been,  by  some  cause,  broken  off,  at  or  near, 
and  sometimes  some  feet  below  the  surface.  The  first, 
in  ascending  the  river,  by  being  visible,  can  be  avoided ; 
but  the  last  is  that  hidden  enemy  to  both  property  and 
life,  which  are  so  frequently  destroyed  by  their  agency  on 
these  waters.  Their  position  is  generally  favorable  to  the 
nature  of  the  work  they  perform ;  it  being  inclined,  and 
pointed,  as  if  by  a  skilful  engineer,  so  as  to  receive  the 
boat's  bow,  or  bottom,  just  where  there  is  the  least  possi- 
bility for  escape ;  when  it  ploughs  through  and  through, 
making  a  breach,  and  opening  numerous  seams  for,  the 
admission  of  water,  and  holds  on,  till  the  work  of  destruc- 
tion is  complete.  There  would  be  scarcely  less  danger 
were  as  many  cannon  mounted  in  the  same  positions,  and 
pointed,  at  like  angles,  and  so  contrived  that,  when  a  boat 
should  strike  the  muzzle,  a  trigger  should  be  drawn,  and 
the  load  discharged. 

The  vast  and  increasing  commerce  of  the  Mississippi, 
and  the  wide-spread  interest  of  the  mercantile  community 
in  property  that  floats  upon  its  waters,  as  well  as  of  that 
of  almost  all  other  classes,  would  seem  to  make  the  busi- 
ness of  ridding  this  great  highway  of  these  invisible  ene- 
mies a  national  duty,  not  to  be  begun,  and  ended,  as  has 
been  the  case,  but  to  be  continued,  and  under  a  system 
that  should  last  as  long  as  the  evil  it  was  intended  to  extir- 
pate should  endure. 

Whenever  a  national  spirit  shall  actuate  Congress,  this 
great  business  will  be  properly  regarded,  and  attended  to. 
Nothing  tends  so  effectually  to  paralyze  the  "  general  wel- 
fare," as  the  presence,  and  exercise,  in  Congress,  of  sec- 
tional or  local  jealousies.  It  seems,  in  great  part,  to  be 
overlooked,  that  we  are  one  people ;  that  a  benefit  con- 


MEMOIRS,  &c.,  &c.  153 

ferred  upon  one  section  of  this  wide-spread  domain  is,  to 
a  greater  or  less  extent,  a  blessing  diffused  among  the  rest ; 
and  yet  it  has  often  happened  that  an  admitted  good  has 
been  withheld  from  the  people  of  one  quarter  of  this  com- 
mon country,  by  votes  in  Congress,  because  some  corres- 
ponding amount  of  money,  proposed  to  be  expended  for 
its  accomplishment,  was  not  appropriated  to  be  expended 
among  the  citizens  of  another  part  of  the  same  country. 
No  one  who  looks  upon  his  country  as  a  patriot,  and  upon 
the  American  people  as  one  great  family,  though  of  dif- 
ferent members,  can  contemplate  this  sectional  jealousy 
with  any  feelings  other  than  those  of  deep  regret. 

We  had  taken  in  tow,  at  St.  Louis,  a  keel-boat  laden 
with  one  thousand  five  hundred  bushels  of  onions,  bound 
to  New  Orleans.  These  onions  were  part  of  the  product 
often  acres  of  ground — the  entire  quantity  raised  upon  it, 
being  two  thousand  bushels.  The  labor  was  performed  by 
two  men.  The  charge  for  towing  the  boat  to  New  Or- 
leans was  one  hundred  and  fifty  dollars,  where  they  ex- 
pected to  receive  for  their  onions  one  dollar  and  fifty  cents 
per  bushel.  Estimating  the  entire  cost  of  raising  the 
onions,  in  labor  and  transportation,  &c.,  at  four  hundred 
and  fifty  dollars,  including  the  cost  of  the  return  of  these 
two  men  to  St.  Louis,  and  the  nett  product  of  these  ten 
acres  of  land,  for  that  year,  would  be  eighteen  hundred 
dollars. 

At  sundown,  the  28th,  arrived  at  Memphis.  Memphis 
stands  on  the  fourth  Chickasaw  bluff.  The  position  ap- 
peared to  me  to  be  a  fine  one,  except,  only,  the  ascent  to 
the  town  from  the  river  was  too  great  for  either  profit  or 
convenience.  The  distance  from  St.  Louis  to  this  place, 
is  four  hundred  miles.  The  next  day,  wrote  home  ;  and  by 
the  kind  offices  of  Mr.  A.,  I  succeeded  in  procuring  a  one- 
horse  wagon,  a  couple  of  horses,  a  guide,  and  an  inter- 
preter. I  had  procured  the  customary  outfit,  at  St.  Louis. 
This  consisted  of  crackers  and  tea,  a  cooked  ham,  a 

VOL.  i.  20 


154  MEMOIRS,  &c.,  &c. 

tongue,  a  tea-kettle,  &c.  My  tent,  of  course,  I  brought 
with  me  from  Green  Bay.  The  day  was  sultry,  and  Ben 
thought  there  were  "  strong  symptoms  of  disease  there, 
(a  couple  of  funerals  being  under  way)  which,  if  taken, 
would  carry  one  off  in  a  jiffy."  "  The  elements,"  he 
thought,  "looked  sickly."  He  knew  his  destination  was 
now  once  more  among  the  Indians.  He  dreaded  this,  but 
he  was  more  alarmed  at  the  climate  at  the  bluffs,  and  was 
glad  to  be  under  way.  All  things  being  ready,  I  mounted 
him  on  the  baggage,  in  the  little  wagon,  took  to  my  horse, 
and  at  twelve  at  noon,  in  company  with  my  guide  and  in- 
terpreter, made  for  the  country  of  the  Chickasaws.  There 
had  never  before  left  these  bluffs  a  shabbier-looking  set  of 
travellers.  Clothing,  wilderness  and  river-worn ;  faces  sun- 
burnt, hair  long,  horses  common,  and  wagon,  and  gear, 
saddle  and  bridle,  even  worse  than  common. 

Made  twenty  miles,  and  encamped  for  the  night.  Rose 
early  the  next  morning,  (the  Sabbath,)  and  proceeded 
thirty  miles  under  a  burning  sky,  before  we  come  to  a 
drop  of  water — when  at  last  a  stream,  called  C 'old-water ', 
greeted  us,  by  the  side  of  which  we  boiled  our  tea,  and 
broke  our  fast ;  when,  after  proceeding  ten  miles  further, 
and  at  half  an  hour  after  sunset,  we  arrived  at  Martyn, 
a  missionary  station.  Met  by  the  Reverend  Mr.  Blair, 
with  the  cordial  welcome  of  a  Christian,  with  the  words — 
"  You  are  indeed  welcome,  colonel,  to  Martyn."  Every 
manifestation  of  kindness  was  shown  to  me.  Discharged 
my  guide  and  interpreter.  How  green  this  little  spot 
looked !  How  full  of  comforts — and  there  were  the  fledg- 
lings of  the  forest,  being  tamed,  and  blessed,  and  made  to 
feel  the  blessed  influence  of  Christian  teaching,  and  of 
Christian  hope.  The  wagon  had  become  rickety,  and 
Ben  was  fearful  it  might  break  down,  as  "he  was  sure  it 
would,  if  we  had  many  more  of  such  roads  to  go  over." 
Ben's  fears  were,  for  once,  well  based ;  for  it  required  all 
of  Monday  to  vamp  up  the  wagon — so,  instead  of  pursu- 


MEMOIRS,  &c.,  &c.  155 

ing  my  journey,  I  was  obliged  to  defer  it  till  Tuesday, 
when  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Blair  agreed  to  accompany  me  to 
Monroe,  another  missionary  station  among  the  Chicka- 
saws,  about  eighty  miles  distant. 

The  morning  of  Tuesday  was  fair  and  fine.  Various 
little  impediments  delayed  our  movement  till  twelve  at 
noon,  when  I  bade  adieu  to  Martyn.  Proceeded  ten 
miles ;  when,  coming  to  a  stream  of  water,  we  stopped, 
and  dined  on  its  margin.  At  sundown  arrived  at  an  Indi- 
an farm.  I  chose  for  my  tent  a  beautiful  green  spot  near 
to  a  water-course,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  B.  keeping  on  to  some 
house  in  its  neighborhood.  A  fire,  as  usual,  was  struck, 
and  applied  to  an  old  tree  that  lay  near  by  my  tent, 
and  Ben  had  gone  with  his  tin-bucket  to  fetch  water,  in 
which  to  boil  our  tea — when,  coming  suddenly  back,  and 
with  looks  of  wild  amazement,  he  rushed  into  the  tent 
where  I  was  reposing  on  my  pallet,  saying — "Indians, 
sir,  Indians,  as  sure  as  you're  alive — I  heard  their  yells !" 
At  that  moment  the  yells  were  repeated.  "  There,"  said 
Ben,  "  there  they  are  again ;  and,  as  I  believe,  they  are 
drunk,  and  here  we  are  with  nobody  but  ourselves.  Your 
pistols,  colonel,  are  under  the  head  of  your  pallet,  and 
your  sword,  also."  Why  not  take  part,  yourself,  Ben? 
Why  put  them  all  away  up  here  out  of  your  reach ?  "I 
was  thinking,  sir,"  he  replied,  "  when  I  put  the  tent  up 
again,  that  is,  if  I  ever  live  to  do  it — I  would  take  a  couple 
of  the  pistols,  and  keep  them  near  me."  Another  yell, 
and  close  at  hand.  "  I  am  certain,  sir,"  said  Ben,  "  we 
shall  never  see  Washington.  Don't  you  think  we  had  bet- 
ter take  down  the  tent,  and  go  on?"  No,  Ben,  I  answered, 
we  might  travel  all  night,  and  not  come  across  such  a 
nice  bit  of  ground  to  encamp  on,  as  this.  "  Yes — but 
what's  the  use  of  a  bit  of  nice  ground,  if  one  is  to  be  killed 
upon  it  ?"  Put  on  the  kettle,  Ben. 

He  had  scarcely  reached  the  fire,  which,  by  this  time, 
was  a  large  one,  before  half  a  dozen  drunken  Indians  came 


156  MEMOIRS,  &c.,  &c. 

staggering  up  to  it ;  one  of  them  passing  on,  came  to  the 
door  of  my  tent,  and  pulling  aside  the  curtain,  began  to 
reel  in,  with  gestures  of  a  sort  that  intimated  his  intention 
to  take  possession.  The  light  from  the  fire  made  every- 
thing bright,  almost,  as  day.  I  knew  one  side  or  the  other 
must  be  master;  so  I  ran  my  fingers  through  the  guards 
of  two  of  the  pistols,  and  springing  to  my  feet,  took  him 
by  the  neck,  and  gave  him  a  shove.  He  lost  his  balance, 
and  tumbled  heels  over  head ;  when  the  remaining  five, 
seizing,  some  their  knives,  and  some  their  rifles,  made  for 
me.  Seeing  my  pistols  cocked,  and  pointed  in  the  direc- 
tion of  the  two  foremost,  a  pause  was  made,  accompanied 
by  silence  ;  when  one,  who  had  been  too  drunk  to  come 
up  with  the  rest,  rose  upon  his  feet,  and  stretching  out  his 
arm,  and  pointing  at  me  with  his  finger,  said,  in  a  loud 
voice, "  JACKSON  !"  That  moment  knives  were  put  up,  and 
rifles  lowered,  and  I  became  the  object  of  a  general  gaze. 
Shortly  after,  they  all,  in  tolerable  quiet,  left  the  ground. 

My  hair  being  grey,  and  having  grown  unusually  long, 
and  it  having  been  always  my  practice  to  wear  it  thrown 
up  from  my  forehead,  this  Indian,  having  doubtless  seen 
General  Jackson,  and  his  hair  being  also  grey,  and  worn 
after  the  same  fashion,  concluded  that  the  general  was  sure 
enough  before  him.  He  had  not  only  seen  General  Jack- 
son, but  was,  there  is  little  doubt,  acquainted  with  his  man- 
ner of  handling  Indians,  and  thought  it  best,  therefore,  with 
his  comrades,  not  to  place  himself  in  a  situation  where  the 
same  sort  of  treatment  might  be  enacted  over  again. 

The  kettle  boiled,  we  took  our  tea  and  crackers,  when  I 
repaired  to  my  pallet ;  and  Ben,  coiling  himself  up  in  his 
buffalo  robe,  laid  himself  down  at  my  feet.  I  was  soon 
asleep,  but  was  not  long  enjoying  my  nap,  when  Ben,  sha- 
king one  of  my  feet,  aroused  me,  saying,  "  There  they  are 
again!"  And  sure  enough,  so  they  were,  in  increased 
numbers,  and  all  of  them  on  horseback.  For  more  than 
an  hour,  these  fellows  were  yelling  and  shouting,  and  trying 


MEMOIRS,  &c.,  &c.  157 

to  ride  their  horses  over  my  tent.  I  felt  quite  sure  they 
could  not  accomplish  this  manoeuvre ;  so  it  did  not  give 
me  much  concern.  At  last,  they  all  galloped  away,  leaving 
me  to  enjoy  the  remainder  of  the  night  in  very  comforta- 
ble and  refreshing  sleep. 

Breakfasted  at  half-past  six ;  mended  the  wagon,  and 
moved  on.  Stopped  at  twelve,  and  ate  something.  A  rat- 
tle-snake crossed  our  path,  his  rattles  admonishing  us  that 
we  were  trespassing.  Alighting  from  my  horse,  I  ran  him 
through  with  my  sword.  I  cut  off  his  rattles  as  a  trophy, 
and  carried  them  with  me  to  Washington.  He  was  three 
feet  long,  and  twelve  years  old,  his  rattles  being  ten  in 
number. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Blair  had  preceded  us — for,  truly  agreea- 
ble as  was  their  company.  I  could  not  exact  it,  at  so  great 
a  sacrifice  of  time  and  comfort  to  them.  We  came  to  a 
swamp,  in  an  Indian  settlement,  and  when  about  midway 
of  the  stream  that  passes  through  it,  our  horse  refused  to 
pull  the  wagon  an  inch  further.  I  had  employed  a  new 
guide,  by  the  way.  I  told  him  to  follow,  and  overtake  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Blair,  and  tell  them  we  were  unexpectedly  de- 
layed ;  and  if  he  could,  to  bring  some  assistance.  So, 
leaving  the  horse  and  wagon  in  the  stream,  Ben  waded  out ; 
when  my  tent,  being  carried  over  on  my  horse,  was  pitched 
on  the  other  side ;  then,  going  into  a  cane-brake,  we 
cut  cane  for  our  horses ;  then,  wading  into  the  stream,  we 
ungeared  the  obstinate  animal,  and  led  him  out,  leaving  the 
wagon  in  its  position,  in  the  middle  of  the  stream.  It  was 
now  night.  The  moon  was  full,  and  the  sky  clear ;  the 
hooting  of  owls  our  only  requiem.  Kindled  a  fire,  boiled 
our  tea,  partook  of  the  refreshing  beverage,  and  went  to 
sleep. 

Early  the  next  morning,  I  joined  Ben,  and  wading  into 
the  stream,  took  manfully  hold  of  the  wagon,  and  by  our 
joint  efforts,  drew  it  upon  dry  land.  We  packed  up,  and 
putting  my  saddle-horse  in  the  wragon,  I  mounted  the  other. 


158  MEMOIRS,  &c.,  &c. 

and  rode  to  Ti-esh-ka's,  whither  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Blair  had 
preceded  us. 

Ti-esh-ka,  an  Indian,  by  his  extraordinary  natural  en- 
dowments, had  surrounded  himself  with  a  farm,  well  fenced 
in,  and  well  stocked.  Besides  his  success  as  a  farmer,  he 
was  an  artist,  and  worked  in  iron  and  silver.  His  charac- 
ter for  talents,  and  exemplary  conduct,  had  combined  to 
give  him  great  influence.  He  was,  in  all  respects,  a  noble 
specimen  of  man ;  one  of  whom  many  in  civilized  life 
might  have  learned,  and  might  yet  learn,  virtues  which  are 
rarely  excelled  among  the  civilized.  Breakfasted  with  this 
noble  Indian ;  and,  in  token  of  my  high  respect  for  his 
character,  left  him  and  his  family  a  few  evidences  of  my 
regards.  Proceeded  to  Tockshish,  (which  word  means 
" Root  of  a  tree"}  a  missionary  station,  in  charge  of  Rev. 
Mr.  Holmes.  Leaving  Tockshish,  where  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Blair  tarried  for  the  night,  I  proceeded  on  to  Monroe,  an- 
other missionary  establishment.  Wagon  broke  down. 

Nearly  the  whole  of  the  country  of  the  Chickasaws, 
through  which  I  had,  so  far,  passed,  was  poor.  Wild  tur- 
keys plenty.  Tarried  at  Monroe,  and  mended  the  wagon. 
This  delay  furnished  the  opportunity  to  send  out  runners 
to  invite  the  chiefs  of  this  district  to  meet  me  at  Levi  Col- 
bert's, on  the  Tombigbee,  the  place  I  had  selected  at  which 
to  hold  the  council  with  the  Chickasaws. 

Monroe,  I  found  to  be  beautifully  situated,  high  and 
healthful,  it  being  on  a  ridge  of  land.  All  the  arrange- 
ments for  the  mission  were  excellent.  A  horse-mill,  worked 
by  two  horses,  had  been  put  up  by  the  family,  which  proved 
of  great  value,  as  well  to  the  Indians  as  themselves. 

Left  Monroe  on  the  6th,  for  Levi  Colbert's,  with  whom 
I  had  been  long  acquainted.  He  had  been  to  Washington, 
and  I  had  brought  up  one  of  his  sons,  Dougherty,  in  my 
family.  Was  accompanied,  part  of  the  way,  by  Mr.  L., 
Mr.  B.,  and  Mr.  A.,  who  made  the  journey,  so  far  as  they 
went,  highly  agreeable.  On  parting  with  them,  I  continued 


MEMOIRS,  &c.,  &c.  159 

on  across  what  is  called  the  old  Natchee  trace,  and  by  the 
way  of  Major  James  Colbert's.  This  whole  tract  would 
be  well  named,  if  called  the  barrens  ;  for  wood,  and  almost 
everything,  was  taken  off,  leaving  a  naked  and  poor  soil,  out 
of  which  nothing  but  extraordinary  culture,  and  enriching 
contributions,  could  make  anything  grow ;  and  yet,  these 
lands  had  been  settled  by  the  Indians  no  longer  ago  than 
the  year  1795. 

Stopped  at  seven  o'clock,  P.  M.,  to  feed  horses,  at 
McCleeches'.  Halted  there  an  hour,  then  continued  on 
till  twelve  o'clock,  when  I  laid  down  at  the  root  of  a  tree, 
and  slept.  I  awoke  in  a  rain,  at  two ;  got  up,  and  pitched 
my  tent,  turned  in,  and  slept  till  day.  Rose  with  the  dawn, 
and  reached  Colbert's,  my  place  of  destination,  at  ten 
o'clock,  to  breakfast.  I  had  been  preceded  by  Major 
James  Colbert,  and  Mr.  McGee,  who  were  there  by  sun- 
rise, having  received  the  call  to  meet  me. 

The  chief,  Levi  Colbert,  could  not  find  language  to  ex- 
press the  joy  of  his  heart,  on  my  arrival.  "  It  makes  my 
heart  glad,  brother,"  said  he,  "  to  see  you.  I  feel  as  if 
some  good  thing  was  to  happen  to  us."  Then  grasping  my 
hand,  he  continued,  "  Yes ;  and  never  since,  about  three 
years  ago,  when  I  left  my  son  with  you,  have  I  gone  to 
sleep,  without  having  you  before  my  eyes.  You  are  our 
friend,  and  we  all  look  upon  your  visit  as  a  great  blessing, 
for  we  are  in  trouble." 

With  a  view  of  making  known  the  principles  which  go- 
verned me  in  this  embassy,  and  they  were  the  same  which, 
at  that  day,  governed  the  administration  of  the  general 
government,  I  record,  (in  Appendix,  E.,)  my  official  cor- 
respondence with  the  Hon.  James  Barbour,  Secretary  of 
War,  and  which  President  Adams  transmitted  to  Congress 
in  his  message,  at  the  commencement  of  the  first  session 
of  the  twentieth  Congress,  containing  all  that  took  place  at 
the  council  held  with  the  Chickasaws,  at  Colbert's,  with 
its  results.  The  leading  objects  in  the  proposal  to  this 


160  MEMOIRS,  &c.,  &c. 

people  to  exchange  their  lands,  east,  for  lands  west  of  the 
Mississippi,  were,  first,  to  relieve  them  from  the  then  exist- 
ing and  increasing  causes  that  had  operated  to  render 
them  miserable  where  they  were,  and  which,  owing  to  the 
relations  between  the  federal  and  state  governments,  could 
not  be  obviated  by  the  federal  government,  by  the  intro- 
duction of  an  adequate  protection,  without  coming  into 
collision  with  state  sovereignty,  and  state  rights;  and, 
second,  to  secure  them  in  their  possessions  west  of  the 
Mississippi,  against  the  recurrence  of  such  anomalous  re- 
lations in  the  future;  with  the  full  design  of  superadding, 
in  those  new  relations,  all  the  elements  needed  to  improve 
and  elevate  their  condition,  and  ennoble  and  bless  them, 
as  a  people.  And  yet,  it  formed  no  part  of  the  views  of 
the  President,  nor  did  it  of  any  other  member  of  the  Ex- 
ecutive Department,  to  employ  force  to  effect  the  removal 
of  these  suffering  people,  much  less  to  mingle  in  the  cup 
of  their  sorrows  another  drop  of  humiliation,  or  of  bitter- 
ness, with  the  intent,  by  such  indirect  and  cruel  means,  to  rid 
the  states  of  their  Indian  population.  If  it  had  been  made 
my  duty  to  open  a  negotiation  with  these  people,  upon 
any  other  basis  than  that  which  included  their  freedom  to 
remain,  .or  to  remove,  as  they  might  deem  best,  I  should 
firmly,  but  respectfully,  have  declined  to  undertake  it.  The 
documents  in  the  appendix  will  vindicate  the  administra- 
tion under  which  I  had  the  honor  to  act,  from  any  feel- 
ings or  purposes,  towards  this  hapless  race,  other  than 
those  of  the  most  just,  the  most  humane,  and  the  most  pa- 
rental nature. 

How  happy  should  I  be  were  it  in  my  power  to  record 
the  continuance,  towards  the  Indians,  of  a  like  spirit! 
Alas !  alas  !  the  hour  was  even  then  rapidly  approaching, 
when,  on  the  question  of  their  removal,  they  were  to  have 
no  will  of  their  own.  The  mandate  went  forth,  and  sub- 
mission, or  death,  was  all  that  was  left  to  them  !  Their 
absence  was  demanded,  and  they  must  go ;  their  lands 


MEMOIRS,   &c.,  &c.  161 

were  wanted,  and  they  must  surrender  them.  Mock  trea- 
ties, as  that  of  New  Euchota,  and  that  at  Payne's  Landing, 
were  transformed  into  honorable  compacts  ;  and  the  voices 
of  petitioning  thousands  praying  to  be  heard,  in  the  solemn 
appeals  made,  that  the  Cherokees,  as  a  people^  had  no 
agency  in  making  the  first,  and  the  Seminoles  no  agency 
in  making  the  last,  were  drowned  by  the  rumbling  of  the 
war-drum,  and  hushed  into  silence  by  the  array  of  armies 
to  enforce  unqualified  submission  !  Deep  were  the  wrongs 
inflicted  on  these  sorrowing  people ;  and  dark  and  dismal 
were  the  days  when  ligament  after  ligament  which  bound 
them  to  the  homes  and  graves  of  their  fathers,  was  made 
to  crack  and  give  way,  as  they  were  thus  forced,  by  a 
power  which  they  were  too  feeble  successfully  to  resist, 
to  take  a  last  sad  look  at  scenes  hallowed  by  every  asso- 
ciation that  enters  into  the  composition  of  life's  happiness  ! 

I  would  rather  be  one  of  these  persecuted  sons  of  the 
forest,  and  have  been-,  as  many  of  them  were,  transported 
in  chains,  than  to  have  had  any  agency  in  thus  forcing 
them,  under  such  forms,  from  their  country  ;  even  though 
its  exercise  would  have  secured  to  me  a  sceptre  and  a 
crown. 

It  is  true,  I  was  anxious  for  their  removal ;  and  I  sought 
diligently  so  to  enlighten  them,  that  they  should  see,  as 
I  saw  it,  the  cloud  that  did,  at  last,  burst  over  them,  and 
secure  to  themselves  a  shelter  from  its  violence ;  and  for 
their  posterity  a  position  that  would,  forever  thereafter, 
preserve  them  from  the  desolating  ravages  of  kindred  ele- 
ments. I  know  they  were  counselled  differently,  and  by 
men  who  sought  their  well-being  with  a  zeal  no  less  ar- 
dent than  my  own,  and  with  a  friendship  for  them  as 
sincere  as  that  cherished  by  me,  but  I  never  could  see 
their  counsels  in  any  other  light  than  I  should  the  counsels 
of  parents,  who,  because  the  house  in  which  their  children 
were,  was  justly  and  legally  their  own,  should  advise  them 

VOL.   I.  21 


162  MEMOIRS,  &c.,  &c. 

not  to  come  out  of  it,  though  it  were  in  flames  over  their 
heads. 

One  among  the  best  men  I  ever  knew — a  man  of  educa- 
tion, of  "intelligence,  and  humanity,  and  a  zealous  friend  of 
the  Indian  race,  Jeremiah  Evarts,  who  was  connected  with 
the  American  Board  of  Commissions  for  Foreign  Mis- 
sions, wrote  and  published  some  very  able  articles  in  op- 
position to  an  exchange  of  country,  by  the  Indians,  signed 
"  William  Penn."  I  knew  he  was  honest,  but  I  knew  he 
was  mistaken.  It  fell  to  my  lot  to  reply  to  these  papers. 
(See  Appendix,  F.)  Like  views  were  entertained  by  cer- 
tain other  good  men,  missionaries  among  the  Cherokees ; 
who,  making  themselves  obnoxious  to  the  laws  of  Geor- 
gia, were  consigned,  by  the  authority  of  that  state,  to  the 
penitentiary.  The  elements  that  had  been  kindled  against 
the  Indians  could  not  be  restrained  in  their  fierceness 
until,  in  this  way,  they  were  made  to  seize  upon  their 
friends.  It  was  the  visible  presence  of  these  elements  that 
led  me  to  counsel  the  Indians  to  escape  from  their  fury, 
and  at  the  same  time  stipulate  for  terms  that  should  se- 
cure them  from  their  consuming  effects  in  the  future.  A 
union  of  counsel  of  the  friends  of  the  Indians,  of  this  sort, 
would  have  gone  far  towards  reconciling  them  to  an  ex- 
change of  homes,  but  no  acquiescing  spirit  could  be  looked 
for,  on  their  part,  whilst  the  federal  government  continued 
towards  them  the  irritating  and  grinding  policy,  which  was 
at  last  consummated,  by  an  appeal  to  force,  and  a  literal  dri- 
ving them  from  their  country.* 

The  poor  lands  which  I  have  noticed,  continued,  with 
but  very  little  change  for  the  better,  all  the  way  to 
Colbert's — the  water,  too,  was  bad,  but  the  air  fine. 
There  are  prairies  in  that  district,  large  and  level.  Pretty 
groves  occasionally  rise  out  of  them,  wearing  the  appear- 

*  What  our  duty  is  towards  this  people,  in  their  new  homes,  will  form  the  sub- 
ject of  part  of  the  second  division  of  this  work. 


MEMOIRS,   &c.,  &c.  163 

ance  of  islands,  whilst  a  fringe  of  woodland  belts  them 
round,  so  far,  at  least,  as  the  eye  can  reach — for  you  look 
out  upon  some  of  these  prairies,  as  you  do  upon  the  ocean ; 
the  boundary  being,  in  both,  the  horizon.  But  there  is 
no  water  there.  The  soil,  which  is  light  and  loamy,  is 
about  ten  feet  thick,  and -rests  upon  a  stratum  of  soft  lime- 
stone ;  and  such  is  the  general  character  of  the  soil  of 
these  prairies,  as  well  as  of  their  substratum. 

I  had  never  before  seen  what  those  Indians  call  a  blow- 
gun.  Here,  among  the  little  boys,  it  was  in  common  use. 
It  is  a  reed,  of  from  eight  to  ten  feet  long.  The  arrow  is 
about  a  foot  in  length,  the  smaller  end  being  wrapped 
round  with  thistle  down.  When  put  in  the  hollow  of 
the  reed,  this  down  fills  it.  The  arrow,  being  pushed  into 
the  reed  about  the  length  of  the  finger,  leaves  that  depth 
of  the  hollow  for  the  impelling  power — which  is  the  breath. 
The  reed  being  light,  these  little  fellows  find  no  difficulty 
in  holding  it  up  at  arm's  length.  With  the  end  in  which  the 
arrow  is  lodged  in  their  mouth,  a  sight  is  drawn  upon  the 
object  to  be  shot  at ;  when,  with  a  sudden  blow  into  the 
reed,  the  arrow  is  darted  out  at  the  other  end,  and  with  a 
force  sufficient  to  kill,  at  twenty  or  thirty  feet,  birds,  rab- 
bits, squirrels,  and  often  wild  turkeys — and  so  practiced  are 
these  Indian  boys  in  the  use  of  the  blow-gun,  as  to  shoot 
them  with  the  precision,  almost,  of  a  rifle.  Indeed,  I  have 
known  them  to  snuff  a  candle  at  twenty  paces,  upon  an 
average  of  three  times  out  of  five.  I  soon  became  owner 
of  one,  and  when  an  hour  of  leisure  occurred,  was  as 
much  amused  with  it,  in  shooting  at  a  mark,  as  any  little 
boy  in  the  Chickasaw  nation. 

I  was  sorry  to  find  my  protege,  Dougherty  Colbert, 
who  had  returned  to  his  home  a  year  or  so  before,  was 
absent  on  a  visit  to  some  of  his  friends.  To  improve  time, 
I  sent,  on  the  8th  October,  an  express  to  the  Choctaw 
agent,  directing  him  to  assemble  the  chiefs  at  his  agency, 
at  a  specified  time.  Both  nations,  the  Chickasaws  and 


164  MEMOIRS,  &c.,  &c. 

Choctaws,  were  all  agog  for  a  ball-play  that  was  to  come 
off  on  the  17th,  and  fears  were  expressed,  lest  this  exci- 
ting occasion  might  prevent  them  from  responding,  as 
generally  as  they  otherwise  would,  to  my  call.  I  saw  a 
chief  take  from  his  pouch  a  bundle  of  reeds,  about  an  inch 
long,  very  carefully  and  compactly  tied  together,  draw  one 
out,  and  throw  it  away.  I  asked  what  that  meant,  and 
received  for  answer,  "  He  is  counting  the  time."  Each 
of  the  reeds  tied  up  in  that  bundle  counted  a  day ;  every 
morning,  one  was  thrown  away,  and  so  continued,  until 
the  day  arrived  for  which  the  reckoning  had  been  made, 
and  on  which  the  duty  or  ceremony  was  to  be  observed, 
to  which  the  reckoning  referred.  I  asked  to  look  at  the 
bundles  ;  and,  on  counting  the  remaining  reeds,  found  the 
last  would  bring  the  17th  of  the  month,  the  day  of  the 
great  ball-play,  and  to  mark  which,  these  reeds  had  been 
originally  prepared.  The  same  plan  is  observed  to  mark 
any  future  event ;  not  the  day  only,  but  any  portion  of  the 
day,  is  noted  with  the  same  precision,  and  even  any  given 
hour.  It  was  by  this  mode  the  celebrated  Tecumthe  had 
fixed  on  a  day  for  a  general  rising  of  the  Indians  from  the 
lakes  to  Florida ;  and  it  was  to  secure  their  co-operation 
in  this  design,  that  he  left  Detroit,  and  travelled  all  the 
way  to  Florida.  The  sticks  he  distributed  on  that  occa- 
sion, being  painted  red,  secured  for  those  who  agreed  to 
co-operate  with  him,  the  title  of  "  Red-sticks." 

A  remarkable  instance  of  the  boldness  and  promptness 
of  this  chief  occurred  when  he  was  engaged  on  this  mis- 
sion of  combining  the  power  of  those  Indians,  at  Tuckha- 
batchee,  then  in  the  Creek  nation.  He  had  been  south  as 
far  as  Florida,  and  was  on  his  return  to  Detroit,  when  he 
sought  to  enlist  in  his  plan  the  Creek  Indians.  The  chief 
of  the  Tuckhabatchees  was  the  "  Big  Warrior ;"  so,  of 
course,  his  visit  was  made  direct  to  him.  Like  all  Indian 
movements,  Tecumthe  conducted  this  great  one  with  a 
corresponding  caution — he  asked  the  Big  Warrior  to 


MEMOIRS,  &c.,  &c.  165 

go  with  him  into  the  upper  room,  or  loft,  of  his  log  house. 
When  seated,  Tecumthe  eyed  him  with  great  keenness, 
for  a  while,  in  silence ;  then,  taking  from  under  his  dress  a 
tomahawk,  and  a  bundle  of  red  sticks,  asked  if  he  was  a 
brave.  The  Big  Warrior,  of  course,  said  he  was ;  when 
Tecumthe  revealed  his  plan,  telling  him  he  had  been  sent 
on  this  errand  by  the  Great  Spirit — and  cautioning  him, 
meanwhile,  not  to  let  any  white  man  know  anything  about 
it — but  to  tell  such  as  might  inquire  what  he  was  doing 
there,  that  he  counselled  them  to  attend  to  their  crops,  to 
be  industrious,  and  sober,  and  live  in  peace.  He  then  pre- 
sented him  with  the  tomahawk,  and  the  bundle  of  sticks, 
telling  him,  in  substance,  with  a  look  of  lightning,  that  he 
was  a  coward,  and  did  not  mean  to  do  what  he  had  prom- 
ised; that  he  (Tecumthe)  should  leave  Tuckhabatchee, 
forthwith,  for  Detroit ;  and  that  he  might  know  the  Great 
Spirit  had  sent  him,  he  would,  on  his  arrival,  stamp  upon 
the  ground,  and  shake  down  every  house  in  Tuckhabatchee. 
This  remarkable  announcement  was  soon  noised  abroad 
among  the  Indians  of  the  village,  who  began  making  up  the 
time,  with  great  care,  at  which  Tecumthe  would  arrive  at 
Detroit.  A  certain  day  was  fixed  upon,  when,  sure  enough, 
on  its  arrival,  a  rumbling  was  heard,  and  the  shaking  of  the 
ground  was  felt,  and  the  log  tenements  of  the  Indians  be- 
gan to  totter  and  fall,  and  all  hands  were  satisfied,  not  that 
Tecumthe  had  reached  Detroit,  only,  but  that  he  had  been 
sent  on  the  mission  he  had  announced,  by  the  Great  Spirit. 
The  shaking  of  the  ground,  and  the  demolition  of  the  log 
cabins  of  the  Indians,  at  Tuckhabatchee,  were,  not,  how- 
ever, produced  by  the  stamping  of  Tecumthe's  foot,  but 
by  the  earthquake,  which,  singularly  enough,  happened  on 
that  very  day  at  New  Madrid. 

In  the  interval  between  the  sending  out  of  runners  to 
invite  the  chiefs  to  the  council,  I  rode  to  Cotton-Gin  Port, 
a  little  log  town  on  the  east  of  the  Tombigbee,  and  about 
a  mile,  in  a  direct  line,  from  Colbert's,  whose  house  occu- 


166  MEMOIRS,   &c.,  &c. 

pies  an  eminence  on  the  opposite  side  of  that  river,  and  in 
full  view  of  Cotton-Gin  Port — a  wide  bottom  interposing, 
which  was  once,  doubtless,  the  bed  of  the  river,  now  nar- 
rowed to  less  than  one-third  of  what  once  was  its  width. 
Here  I  purchased  presents,  in  articles  of  necessity,  for  Col- 
bert, whose  premises  were  soon  to  be  a  theatre  for  the 
consumption  of  a  good  many  of  them,  and  drew  a  bill  for 
their  cost  upon  the  agent.  On  my  return,  met  Mr.  L.,  Mr. 
H.,  and  Mr.  B.,  on  their  way  to  Cotton-Gin  Port,  having  come 
on,  at  my  request,  to  be  present  at  the  council,  which  was 
to  be  opened  the  next  day.  Tremendous  storm  at  about 
seven,  P.  M.,  and  soon  after  my  return,  accompanied  by 
vivid  lightning  and  heavy  thunder.  Kept  to  my  tent,  which 
I  had  pitched  in  Colbert's  yard,  preferring  it  to  a  room  in 
the  house. 


MEMOIRS,   &c.,  &c.  167 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

INCIDENTS  OF  TRAVEL  FROM  THE  CHICKASAW  BLUFFS, 
THROUGH  THE  CHOCTAW  COUNTRY  TO  TUSCALOOSA. 
THENCE,  THROUGH  THE  CREEK  COUNTRY,  HOME. 

Opening  of  the  council  at  Colbert's  house — Its  results — On  the  way  to  the  Choc- 
taws — Beauty  of  the  prairie — A  Choctaw  "  rain-maker" — Espy  outdone — The 
secret  of  the  art — A  thunderbolt  wrapped  up  in  a  blanket — The  sorcerer — On 
the  wrong  track — Ben  in  a  prairie — An  Indian  camp  surprised — A  bargain — 
In  difficulty — A  false  guide — A  night  among  the  cane-brake — A  copperhead- 
snake  for  a  pillow — A  new  guide — Safe  arrival  at  Folsom's — Opposition  of  In- 
dians to  selling  their  lands — Colonel  James  Johnson — His  brother,  Richard  M. 
—Proof  that  Tecumth^  was  killed  by  R.  M.  Johnson — Result  of  the  Choctaw 
council — A  burnt  child — Great  Indian  ball-playing — Columbus — A  beautiful 
sufferer — Governor  Adair — Passing  by  the  Cherokees — Horrible  roads — Woods 
on  fire — Guide  to  Tuscaloosa — A  Sabbath  of  rest — Journey  to  the  Creek  agen- 
cy on  the  Chattahoochee — Results  of  conference  with  the  Creeks — Two  Indian 
boys  adopted — Home  sickness — Effect  of  a  change  of  dress — Scene  at  a  public 
house — Subsequent  history  of  the  Indian  boys. 

THE  next  morning  broke  away,  revealing  a  bright  and 
beautiful  day.  My  anxiety  became  great,  as  the  time  ap- 
proached for  holding  the  council.  I  knew  that  much,  every 
way,  depended  upon  my  success  with  the  Chickasaws. 
It  was  my  conviction,  that  never,  whilst  these  hapless 
people  continued  to  retain  their  then  relations  to  the 
whites,  would  they  be  otherwise  than  harrassed,  and  af- 
flicted, and  miserable ;  for  I  had  seen  too  many  proofs 
of  the  determination  of  the  States,  to  rid  themselves,  at 
all  hazards,  of  the  presence  of  their  Indian  population. 
Nothing  was  needed  to  carry  out  this  determination,  but  a 
change  in  the  policy  that  had,  always,  up  to  that  hour,  gov- 
erned the  Executive  branch  of  the  general  government. 
With  a  deep  sense  of  my  responsibility,  both  to  the  gov- 


168  MEMOIRS,  &c.,  &c. 

ernment  and  the  Indians,  I  opened  the  council  on  the  morn- 
ing of  Tuesday,  October  9,  at  ten  o'clock,  A.  M.,  in  an 
upper  room  of  Colbert's  house.  I  proposed  that  the  coun- 
cil should  be  held  there,  to  avoid  the  counteracting  influ- 
ence of  intermeddlers,  there  having  arrived  some  such 
characters ;  and  besides,  I  knew  there  were  certain  griev- 
ances of  which  it  was  the  intention  of  the  Indians  to  com- 
plain, that  would  involve  the  character  of  at  least  one  indi- 
vidual who  was  connected  with  the  government ;  and  there- 
fore I  determined  the  council  should  be  held  where  none 
could  intrude.  The  appendix  (E.)  already  referred  to, 
will  tell  what  was  done,  and  how  it  was  done ;  and  it 
will  show,  also,  what  sort  of  principles,  on  the  question  of 
Indian  emigration,  influenced  me. 

Having  by  twelve  o'clock  at  night  finished,  to  my  entire 
satisfaction,  as  also  to  the  satisfaction  of  the  chiefs,  my 
business  with  the  Chickasaws,  I  was  up,  and  ready  for  a 
start  for  the  Choctaw  nation,  by  the  break  of  day,  the  next 
morning ;  but  was  delayed  by  the  horses  having,  during 
the  night,  broken  out  of  the  stable,  and  being  off,  some- 
where, grazing  in  the  fields.  Meantime,  I  addressed  a 
hasty  note  to  the  Secretary  of  War,  stating  the  result  of 
the  council — (see  Appendix,  as  above.)  By  eleven  o'clock 
I  was  off,  accompanied  by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Bell,  for  Mayhew, 
another  missionary  station,  in  the  Choctaw  country. 

Rode  across  part  of  an  immense  prairie,  supposed  to  be 
over  a  hundred  miles  long,  (so,  at  least,  my  guide  told  me,) 
and  from  one  mile  to  ten  miles  wide.  No  one  that  has  not 
seen  a  prairie  in  the  season  of  flowers,  can  form  the  slight- 
est conception  of  its  grandeur  and  beauty.  It  is,  literally, 
an  ocean  of  flowery  billows  !  Such  this  was,  as  the  south 
wind  blew  over  it,  producing  undulations  like  those  which 
characterize  the  ocean.  Encamped  on  the  other  side  of 
it.  The  dew  was  heavy,  and  the  night  cold.  Rose  at 
day-break,  and  continued  on,  arriving  at  Mayhew,  at  about 
ten  o'clock  ;  where  I  was  most  cordially  received  by  Rev. 


MEMOIRS,   &c.,  &c.  169 

Mr.  Kingsbury,  the  principal  of  the  mission.  Wrote  to  the 
Secretary  of  War,  as  the  reader  will  see,  in  the  Appendix, 
(E.)  a  more  full  account  of  the  proceedings  at  the  Chick- 
asaw  council,  and  its  results,  &c. 

It  was  somewhere  in  this  district  that  I  had  a  most  in- 
teresting interview  with  a  Choctaw  " rain-maker"  This 
country  is  remarkable  for  its  long  droughts ;  and  this  cir- 
cumstance, it  is  supposed,  set  the  wits  of  some  cunning 
rogue  of  a  fellow  to  work,  to  find  out  how  to  profit  by  it. 
And  so,  from  earliest  times,  there  have  been  "  rain-makers" 
among,  at  least,  the  Choctaws.  I  had  seen  an  Indian  far 
off,  west  from  my  position,  who  seemed  to  be  pow-wow- 
ing ;  his  peculiar  costume,  combining  with  his  motions,  sa- 
tisfied me  that  he  was  at  work  with  some  of  the  mysteries 
of  the  juggling  art.  On  inquiring  who  he  was,  and  what 
he  was  about,  I  received  for  answer,  "  He  is  a  rain-maker, 
and  is  engaged  with  the  Great  Spirit,  to  procure  his  con- 
sent to  give  the  people  rain."  The  season  was  an  exceed- 
ing dry  one ;  and  if  such  agency,  I  thought,  was  ever  re- 
quired for  the  benefit  of  both  man  and  beast,  it  was  required 
then.  I  requested  a  messenger  to  go  and  tell  the  rain-ma- 
ker that  I  wanted  to  see  him,  and  received  in  return  a 
shake  of  the  head,  and  an  assurance  that  nothing  could 
move  him  from  that  spot,  until  he  made  it  rain.  I  added 
— Go,  and  tell  him  I  have  some  presents  for  him.  I  very 
well  knew  that  a  message  of  this  sort  was  potent  in  relax- 
ing previously  formed  conclusions  among  most  people,  but 
especially  so  among  Indians.  The  messenger  left  me.  I 
kept  my  eye  upon  the  meeting.  There  appeared  to  be 
much  talk.  At  last,  they  both  started  down  the  hill  to- 
gether. "  This,"  said  the  interpreter,  as  the  singularly  clad 
personage  approached  me,  "  is  the  rain-maker ;"  and  to 
the  rain-maker  he  said,  "  This  is  Colonel  McKenney,  from 
Washington,  who  sits  near  your  Great  Father,  the  Presi- 
dent, and  manages  all  the  Indian  affairs." 

I   shook   hands  with   him,  and  told  him  I  was  glad 

VOL.  i.  22 


170  MEMOIRS,  &c.,  &c. 

to  see  him ;  that  I  had  heard  of  his  greatness — that  he  was 
not  only  a  great  man  among  his  people,  but  that  I  was 
told  he  had  great  influence  with  the  Great  Spirit.  This 
seemed  to  please  him.  I  asked  him  if  he  had  any  objec- 
tion to  instruct  me  in  his  art  of  rain-making ;  saying,  we  had 
in  my  country  many  seasons  of  dry  weather,  and  as  I  was 
going  so  far  away,  I  should  not  interfere  with  him  in  his 
business  of  making  rain  for  the  Choctaws.  He  shook  his 
head,  saying,  (all  this  through  the  interpreter,)  "  the 
Great  Spirit  would  not  like  him  to  tell  how  he  made  it 
rain."  I  asked  if  he  had  any  objection  to  go  with  me  to 
the  edge  of  a  prairie  that  commenced  about  a  mile  off. 
He  said  no — when  we  all  started.  On  arriving  at  the 
prairie,  I  alighted  from  my  horse,  and  sat  down  on  a  log, 
inviting  the  rain-maker  to  sit  by  me,  and  also  the  inter- 
preter ;  the  rest  I  directed  to  move  on,  and  I  would  over- 
take them. 

As  soon  as  they  were  well  out  of  sight,  I  began  by  say- 
ing I  was  so  anxious  to  know  the  secret  of  rain-making, 
that  I  would  give  him  an  order  on  the  agent  for  a  pair  of 
scarlet  leggins,  a  pound  of  tobacco,  a  string  of  wampum, 
a  pound  of  powder,  two  pounds  of  lead,  and  a  blanket,  if 
he  would  tell  me  all  about  it.  He  stood  up,  and  looked 
around  him ;  and  then,  holding  his  head  first  on  one  side, 
and  then  on  the  other,  listened ;  when,  looking  well  round 
him,  again,  he  sat  down,  saying  to  the  interpreter,  "  Ask 
him  if  he  will  give  me  these  things."  Most  certainly,  I 
replied,  upon  the  condition  that  he  will  tell  me  all  about 
his  art  as  a  rain-maker.  He  stood  up  again,  and  looked, 
and  listened,  and  then  seating  himself,  began : — 

"  Long  tune  ago  I  was  lying  in  the  shade  of  a  tree,  on 
the  side  of  a  valley.  There  had  been  no  rain  for  a  long 
time — the  tongues  of  the  horses,  and  cattle,  and  dogs,  all 
being  out  of  their  mouths,  and  they  panted  for  some  water. 
I  was  thirsty,  everybody  was  dry.  The  leaves  were  all 
parched  up,  and  the  sun  was  hot.  I  was  sorry;  when, 


MEMOIRS,  &c.,  &c.  171 

looking  up,  the  Great  Spirit  snapped  his  eyes,  and  fire 
flew  out  of  them,  in  streams,  all  over  the  heavens.  He 
spoke,  and  the  earth  shook.  Just  as  the  fire  streamed 
from  the  eyes  of  the  Great  Spirit,  I  saw  a  pine-tree,  that 
stood  on  the  other  side  of  the  valley,  torn  all  to  pieces  by  the 
fire.  The  bark  and  limbs  flew  all  round,  when  all  was  still. 
Then  the  Great  Spirit  spoke  to  me,  and  said,  go  to  that 
pine-tree,  and  dig  down  to  the  root  where  the  earth  is 
stirred  up,  and  you  will  find  what  split  the  tree.  Take  it, 
wrap  it  carefully  up,  and  wear  it  next  your  body,  and  when 
the  earth  shall  become  dry  again,  and  the  horses  and  cat- 
tle suffer  for  water,  go  out  on  some  hill-top,  and  ask  me, 
and  I  will  make  it  rain.  I  have  obeyed  the  Great  Spirit ; 
and  ever  since,  when  I  ask  him,  he  makes  it  rain." 

I  asked  to  see  this  thunderbolt  that  had  shivered  the 
pine-tree.  He  rose  upon  his  feet  again,  and  looking  well 
around  him,  sat  down,  and  drawing  from  his  bosom  a  roll 
which  was  fastened  round  his  neck  by  a  bit  of  deer-skin, 
began  to  unwrap  the  folds.  These  were  of  every  sort  of 
thing — a  piece  of  old  blanket ;  then  one  of  calico ;  another 
of  cotton — laying  each  piece,  as  he  removed  it,  carefully  on 
his  knee.  At  last,  and  after  taking  off  as  many  folds  as 
were  once  employed  to  encase  an  Egyptian  mummy,  he 
came  to  one  that  was  made  of  deer-skin,  which,  being  un- 
wound, he  took  out  the  thunderbolt,  and  holding  it  with 
great  care  between  his  finger  and  thumb,  said,  "  This  is 
it  /"  I  took  it,  and  examined  it  with  an  expression  of 
great  interest,  telling  him  it  certainly  was  a  wonderful  re- 
velation, and  a  great  sight ;  then  handing  it  back  to  him, 
he  carefully  wrapped  it  up  again,  with  the  same  wrappers, 
and  put  it  back  in  his  bosom. 

The  reader  is  no  doubt  curious  to  know  what  this  talis- 
manic  charm — this  thunderbolt — was.  Well,  it  was  noth- 
ing more,  nor  less,  than  that  part  of  a  glass  stopper  that 
fills  the  mouth  of  a  decanter — the  upper,  or  flat  part,  hav- 
ing been  broken  off ! 


172  MEMOIRS,   &c.,  &c. 

I  wrote,  and  gave  him  an  order  for  the  presents,  when 
he  shook  hands,  and  left  me,  doubtless  much  edified,  as 
well  as  benefited,  by  the  interview,  to  carry  on  his  ope- 
rations as  a  rain-maker,  till  it  should  rain. 

This  class  of  persons  make  quite  a  living  out  of  their 
occupation.  They  do  nothing  else.  If  the  rain  shall  fall 
quickly,  they  give  out  the  Great  Spirit  was  in  a  good  hu- 
mor; and  they  get  the  credit,  besides  the  pay,  of  making 
it  rain.  If,  however,  the  drought  is  a  long  one,  they  say 
the  Great  Spirit  is  hard  to  move ;  meantime,  they  are  fed, 
and  made  comfortable  ;  and  when  it  does  rain,  they  satisfy 
the  people  by  telling  them  of  the  difficulty  that  attended 
their  toils,  but  that,  at  last,  the  Great  Spirit  yielded,  and 
there  was  the  rain. 

But  among  the  most  extraordinary  of  the  race,  was  the 
sorcerer  of  whom  Brainerd  gives  an  account. 

Brainerd  had  the  opportunity  of  visiting  many  differ- 
ent tribes  of  Indians,  each  having  some  peculiarities,  in 
which  they  differed  from  the  rest ;  but  he  says  that,  of  all 
the  sights  he  ever  saw  among  them,  or  anywhere  else, 
nothing  ever  excited  such  terror  in  his  mind,  or  came  so 
near  what  he  imagined  of  the  infernal  powers,  as  the  ap- 
pearance of  one  of  these  sorcerers,  who  had  the  reputa- 
tion of  a  reformer  among  them,  being  anxious  to  restore 
the  ancient  purity  of  their  religion.  His  pontifical  vesture 
was  a  coat  of  bear-skin,  with  the  hair  outside,  falling 
down  to  his  feet ;  his  stockings  were  of  the  same  material ; 
and  his  face  was  covered  with  a  hideous  mask,  painted 
with  different  colors,  and  attached  to  a  hood  of  bear-skin, 
which  was  drawn  over  his  head.  He  held  in  his  hand  an 
instrument  made  of  a  dry  tortoise-shell,  with  corn  in  it, 
and  fitted  to  a  long  handle.  As  he  came  up  to  Brainerd, 
he  beat  time  with  this  rattle,  and  danced  with  all  his  might, 
suffering  no  part  of  his  form,  not  even  his  fingers,  to  ap- 
pear. Brainerd  tells  us,  that  when  this  figure  came  up  to 
him,  he  could  not  but  shrink  from  it  in  dismay,  though  he 


MEMOIRS,  &c.,  &c.  173 

knew  that  the  sorcerer  had  no  hostile  feelings  or  inten- 
tions. If  it  were  so  with  him,  it  must  be  easy  to  imagine 
how  the  credulous  Indians  must  be  affected. 

At  his  invitation,  Brainerd  went  into  his  house  with 
him,  and  conversed  on  the  subject  of  religion.  Some 
parts  of  his  doctrine  the  sorcerer  seemed  to  approve,  but 
from  others  he  strongly  dissented.  He  said  that  the 
Great  Spirit  had  taught  him  his  religion,  which  he  did  not 
mean  to  abandon,  but,  on  the  contrary,  wished  to  find 
some,  who  would  join  him  in  sincerely  professing  it ;  for 
the  Indians  were  growing  so  corrupt  and  degenerate,  that 
he  could  no  longer  endure  them.  He  believed  that  there 
must  be  good  men  somewhere,  and  he  intended  to  go  forth 
and  travel,  in  order  to  find  them.  Formerly  he  had  ac- 
quiesced in  the  prevailing  corruption ;  but,  several  years  be- 
fore, his  spirit  had  so  revolted  from  it,  that  he  had  left  the 
presence  of  men,  and  dwelt  alone  in  the  woods.  While  he 
was  in  solitude,  the  Great  Spirit  had  taught  him,  that,  in- 
stead of  deserting  men,  he  ought  to  remain  with  them,  and 
endeavor  to  do  them  good.  He  then  immediately  return- 
ed to  his  associates,  and,  since  that  time,  he  had  no  other 
feeling  than  that  of  friendship  for  all  mankind.  The  Indi- 
ans confirmed  the  account  which  he  gave  of  himself,  say- 
ing that,  when  strong  drink  came  among  them,  he  warned 
and  implored  them  not  to  use  it;  and,  when  his  counsels 
were  disregarded,  he  would  leave  them  in  sorrow,  and  go 
crying  into  the  woods. 

At  eleven,  A.  M.,  Thursday,  October  llth,  left  Mayhew, 
after  early  dinner,  for  the  residence  of  my  old  friend,  David 
Folsom,  a  chief  of  great  worth  and  distinction  of  the  Choc- 
taws,  distant  about  fifteen  miles  from  Mayhew.  The  way 
was  represented  as  being  so  plain,  as  to  make  it  unneces- 
sary for  me  to  employ  a  guide.  A  diverse  trail,  however, 
misled,  and  took  me  out  of  the  line  of  my  journey.  Hav- 
ing rode  five  hours,  I  on  my  horse,  and  Ben  in  the  wagon, 
I  began  to  suspect  the  way  to  Folsom's  had  been  left ;  and, 


174  MEMOIRS,  &c.,  &c. 

sure  enough,  it  was.  Night  came  on ;  but  being  on  an  In- 
dian trail,  which  I  concluded  would  fetch  me  up  some- 
where, I  concluded  to  keep  on.  Eight  o'clock  came,  which 
I  ascertained,  not  by  seeing,  but  feeling  the  hands  of  my 
watch,  for  it  was  total  darkness.  No  light  from  moon  or 
stars,  and  none  from  Indian  camp-fires  or  wigwams.  I  told 
Ben  to  halt,  his  movements  over  grounds  where  wheels 
had,  perhaps,  never  been,  being  necessarily  slow,  and  I 
would  gallop  ahead,  on  the  trail,  it  being  a  pretty  good 
one,  and  keep  on  till  I  should  find  somebody.  I  had  not 
gone  over  half  a  mile,  when  I  heard  Ben  hallooing  at  the 
top  of  his  voice.  It  sounded  as  if  he  were  in  distress.  I 
paused  a  moment,  and  heard  him  again,  more  and  more 
loud ;  when,  putting  spurs  to  my  horse,  I  was  soon  back 
to  where  I  had  left  him.  What's  the  matter,  Ben  ?  "Just 
as  sure  as  I'm  alive,  I  heard  Indians  off  here  on  the  right, 
treading  softly  among  the  leaves,  and  muttering  something ; 
and  I  know  I'm  not  mistaken."  Well,  what  if  you  did  ? 
Do  you  expect  to  meet  with  anybody  else  but  Indians,  while 
you  are  in  their  own  country  ?  and  are  not  these  the  very 
people  I  am  trying  to  find  ?  "  If  I  am  ever  spared  to  reach 
home,"  was  the  response,  "  this  time,  I'll  never  venture 
among  such  dangers  again !"  I  told  him  to  follow  me,  and 
keep  his  eye  upon  the  tail  of  my  horse,  which  was  remark- 
ably white,  and  very  long.  We  continued  slowly  on. 

By  and  by,  on  rising  a  small  ascent,  and  at  about  a 
mile's  distance,  flared  up  an  Indian  camp-fire.  I  immedi- 
ately made  for  it.  On  nearing  the  camp,  I  saw,  by  the 
light  of  the  fire,  some  ten  or  a  dozen  Indians.  A  dog 
barked ;  when  one  of  them  who  had  been  seated,  sprang 
to  his  feet,  fetching  his  rifle  up  in  his  hand ;  then  throwing 
around  his  neck  his  powder-horn  and  shot-pouch,  stood 
looking  for  a  moment  in  the  direction  in  which  the  dog 
was  yet  barking,  and  that  of  my  approach.  He  stepped 
quickly  forward,  some  of  them  still  seated,  but  resting  on 
one  hand,  and  looking  in  the  direction  in  which  their  com- 


MEMOIRS,  &c.,  &c.  175 

rade  had  gone,  the  rest  of  them  standing,  and  all  looking 
the  same  way.  The  entire  group  was  fully  revealed  to  me 
by  the  light  of  the  fire,  but  I  was  yet  concealed  from  their 
view,  by  the  surrounding  darkness.  Presently  the  Indian 
who  had  advanced  towards  me,  spoke,  but  I  did  not  un- 
derstand what  he  said.  I  replied,  however,  by  answering, 
" Friend"  We  soon  met,  both  within  the  range  of  the 
light  from  the  fire,  when  I  said — Folsom — chief — me — 
(pointing  to  my  own  person) — go — (pointing  in  another 
direction) — see  Folsom — chief.  He  put  his  finger  to  his 
breast,  saying,  "Me;"  then  pointing  to  his  left,  added, 
" Folsom"  Again  pointing  to  his  person,  he  said,  " Me — 
money."  I  struck  my  hand  on  my  pocket,  and  said — Yes, 
money. 

This  half  pantomime  over,  he  stretched  forth  his  arm, 
pointing  to  his  left,  and,  giving  me  a  sign  to  follow  him, 
strode  off  through  a  thick,  dark  wood.  I  did  so,  Ben  ma- 
king the  best  of  his  way  after  me,  with  his  charge.  We 
had  not  proceeded  over  a  quarter  of  a  mile  before  the  front 
axle-tree  of  the  wagon,  striking  a  stump,  broke  one  of  the 
shafts.  I  dismounted,  and  putting  the  split  parts  together, 
Ben  bound  them  round  with  raw  hide,  some  of  which  I 
had  brought  with  me  from  Colbert's,  in  place  of  rope,  to 
provide  against  such  contingencies.  I  told  Ben  he  must 
walk  and  lead  the  horse,  and  thus  relieve  the  wagon  from 
so  much  of  its  weight,  thereby  rendering  us  less  liable  to 
similar  casualties.  Having  gone  about  a  mile  further,  I 
heard  the  Indian  upon  a  trot  in  a  direction  to  our  left,  and 
calling  a  halt,  found  that  we  were  on  a  trail,  but  that  he 
had  left  it.  I  paused  awhile  to  ascertain,  if  I  could,  what 
that  manoeuvre  meant ;  then  moved  on,  when,  having  gone 
half  a  mile  further,  and  turning  a  point  round  a  hill,  I  saw 
another  fire,  and  coming  in  the  direction  of  my  march 
were  two  Indians,  at  a  trot,  both  having  rifles.  They  pres- 
ently came  up  to  us,  when  I  halted,  the  light  from  the  fire 
giving  a  tolerable  light,  by  which  I  recognized  one  of  them 


176  MEMOIRS,  &c.,  &c. 

to  be  my  guide ;  the  other,  of  course,  a  stranger.  They 
came  up  to  the  wagon,  and  began  to  pull  about  its  con- 
tents, when  I  sprang  from  my  horse,  throwing  a  rein  over 
my  arm,  and  with  the  other  hand  drew  out  from  a  basket 
a  couple  of  pistols.  I  held  one  in  each  hand,  and  told  Ben 
to  move  on.  The  moment  I  alighted  from  my  horse,  they 
stepped  back  a  few  paces  from  the  wagon,  and  stood  side 
by  side. 

I  knew  I  was  upon  the  lines  where  the  vices  of  the  white 
men  are  constantly  practised  before  the  eyes  of  these  poor, 
persecuted  Indians,  and  that  there,  as  all  along  the  border, 
they  had  been  corrupted,  and  made  savage  by  them ;  and 
this  thought  impressed  me  with  a  sense  of  danger.  My 
firm  belief  was,  that  as  I  moved  off,  these  Indians  would 
discharge  their  rifles  at  me ;  and  the  only  ground  of  safety 
left  me  was  in  the  possibility  that  they  might  miss  me.  I 
was  satisfied  the  second  Indian  had  been  gone  after  to 
make  more  sure  the  plunder,  which  I  was  convinced  was 
the  object  of  both.  I  had  been  often  on  the  shores  of 
Lake  Superior,  surrounded  by  hundreds  of  what  are  es- 
teemed to  be  men  more  fierce,  and  more  savage,  but 
never  had  the  least  occasion  of  entertaining  fears  for  my 
personal  safety.  Those  remote  Indians  had  not  been  de- 
graded, and  made  reckless  and  barbarous,  by  the  delete- 
rious influences  of  a  proximate  border  population.  The 
remark  made  to  me  by  President  Monroe,  on  his  return  from 
his  tour  along  the  borders,  I  had,  on  more  occasions  than 
one,  seen  verified.  To  the  questions  which  I  put  to  him, 
How  did  the  red  people  appear  to  you?  Were  they 
savages,  as  so  many  people  think  they  are  ;  or  have  they 
put  off  this  character,  in  whole,  or  in  part,  so  far  as  your 
observation  extended  ?  "  The  worst  Indians  I  have  seen 
in  my  travels,"  he  answered,  "  are  the  white  people  that 
live  on  their  borders." 

I  looked  back  upon  the  two  Indians  with  no  little  anxie- 
ty, until  I  had  got  so  far  in  the  thick  darkness  as  to  lose 


MEMOIRS,  &c.,  &c.  177 

sight  of  them,  and  at  the  same  time  I  got  rid  of  the  greater 
portion  of  my  apprehensions.  At  a  distance  of  a  mile  or 
so  from  where  I  left  them,  I  discovered,  by  the  descending 
surface,  that  I  was  getting  into  a  morass,  or  valley  of  some 
sort,  which,  upon  a  little  examination,  I  found  to  be  a  cane- 
brake.  It  occurred  to  me,  that  this  being  a  favorable 
place  for  a  rencounter,  the  attack  had  been  put  off,  until  I 
had  got  fairly  into  it ;  when  I  halted  and  listened.  Hearing 
nothing,  I  told  Ben  to  turn  short  off  to  the  right,  and  keep 
on  the  level  ground  as  well  as  he  could.  I  continued  in 
this  direction  for  a  quarter  of  a  mile,  and  halted  ;  struck 
fire  into  an  old  tree,  piled  a  large  quantity  of  wood  upon 
it,  and  travelled  three  or  four  hundred  yards  further  on, 
when  coming  to  a  large  tree  with  overshadowing  branches, 
I  concluded  to  stop  there  for  the  night.  Ben  ungeared  his 
horse,  and  tied  him  tp  part  of  the  wagon ;  I  unsaddled 
mine,  made  a  pillow  of  the  saddle,  threw  down  my  pallet, 
and  a  couple  of  blankets,  tied  my  horse  to  a  limb  of  the 
tree,  and  descended  with  Ben  into  the  cane-brake,  and  cut 
cane  for  our  horses,  out  of  which  we  extracted  quite  an 
agreeable  repast  for  ourselves,  for  our  provisions  were  ex- 
hausted. Having  fed  the  horses,  and  made  our  repast,  I 
stretched  myself  out  upon  my  pallet — telling  Ben  to  take 
care  of  himself — pulled  the  blankets  over  me,  and  went  to 
sleep. 

My  object  in  building  the  fire  where  I  did,  and  leaving 
it,  was  intended  to  mislead  the  Indians,  should  they  follow 
us.  The  place  I  had  retired  to  was  beyond  the  range  of 
the  light  of  the  fire,  which  made  it  quite  certain  that,  un- 
less by  the  veriest  accident,  I  should  not  be  discovered. 
Another  of  my  contrivances  was,  to  hoist  my  umbrella 
over  me,  to  keep  off  the  dew  ;  which  I  made  stationary, 
by  connecting  the  top  of  it  to  the  branches  of  the  tree  that 
impended  over  me. 

Ben  chose,  as  a  place  of  greater  security,  a  retreat  be- 
neath the  wagon.  When  I  awoke,  day  was  just  breaking. 

VOL.  I.  23 


178  MEMOIRS,   &c.,  &c. 

I  called  Ben,  who  had  scarcely  cleared  the  wagon,  before 
he  gave  a  look  of  horror  at  the  place  he  had  just  left ; 
then,  making  a  spring  of  six  feet,  he  seized  a  bit  of  wood, 
and  to  my  question — What's  the  matter  ?  answered,  "  A 
copperhead-snake  !"  The  fury  of  Ben's  onset  was  such, 
as,  in  very  quick  time,  to  kill  his  companion  for  the  night. 
"  This  is  hard,"  said  Ben ;  "  we  scarcely  make  ourselves 
secure  from  the  Indians,  before  we  are  met  by  such  poi- 
sonous rascals  as  this."  I  told  him  I  thought  the  snake, 
having  behaved  so  well  as  to  lie  by  him  all  night,  and  do 
him  no  harm,  was  entitled  to  his  thanks,  and  not  his  male- 
dictions. But,  as  you  have  shown  great  courage,  Ben,  I 
continued,  in  the  attack  upon  the  snake,  go  now  into  the 
cane-brake,  and  cut  cane  for  your  horse,  and  I  will  go 
back  to  the  trail,  cross  the  brake,  and  try  if  I  cannot  find 
a  guide. 

I  had  just  crossed  the  brake,  and  was  rising  the  hill  on 
the  opposite  side,  when  my  eye  caught  the  head  of  an  In- 
dian. I  was  soon  up  with  him.  He  had  a  bridle  in  his 
hand.  I  asked  him  where  he  was  going.  Fortunately,  I 
was  answered  in  English,  "  I'm  horse-hunting."  I  then  told 
him  who  I  was,  and  where  I  wanted  to  go,  and  asked  him 
to  guide  me.  He  held  out  his  hand,  shook  hands  with  me, 
and  said,  "  Follow  me."  He  took  the  track  I  had  travel- 
led over  to  where  Ben  was.  I  opened  a  box  containing 
some  articles  for  presents,  and  took  out  a  pair  of  silver 
arm-bands,  and  a  silver  gorget,  and  presented  them  to 
him.  We  were  soon  under  way,  and  over  the  same  track 
by  the  two  camp-fires  we  had  passed  the  night  before.  This 
confirmed  my  impression  that  fair  play  had  not  been  in- 
tended by  my  guide ;  and  that,  but  for  the  state  of  prepa- 
ration for  defence  in  which  the  two  Indians  found  me,  I 
might  have  been,  at  least,  plundered. 

Arrived  at  Folsom's  at  eleven  o'clock,  A.  M.  Such  was 
the  apprehension  of  these  people  at  being  suspected  of 
selling  land  to  white  men,  made  more  so  after  the  summary 


MEMOIRS,  &c.,  &c.  179 

punishment  inflicted  by  the  Creeks  on  Mclntosh,  a  principal 
chief  of  the  Creek  nation,  that,  on  arriving  at  Folsom's,  my 
guide,  taking  him  aside,  asked  if  I  was  not  a  land  trader  ? 
and  why,  if  I  did  not  want  land,  I  had,  for  so  small  a  ser- 
vice, made  him  such  costly  presents  ?  He  was  poor,  he 
said,  and  the  Indians  would  know,  if  he  should  wear  these 
arm-bands,  and  that  gorget,  he  had  never  bought  them ; 
and  fearing  the  worst,  he  begged  Folsom  to  keep  them  for 
him,  and  explain  to  the  council,  when  it  should  meet,  how 
he  had  come  by  them ;  all  of  which  was  done. 

After  dinner,  rode  down  the  federal  road  to  the  Choctaw 
agency.  Met  there  a  brother  of  Colonel  R.  M.  Johnson, 
and  several  others.  The  Indians  were  coming  in,  in  great 
numbers.  Spent  the  Sabbath  at  the  agency,  and  on  Mon- 
day went  back  to  Folsom's,  and  dined  there. 

The  presence  of  Colonel  Johnson's  brother  revived 
many  reminiscences  of  the  late  war ;  and  among  these, 
the  battle  of  the  Thames,  where  the  two  Johnsons,  James 
and  Richard  M.,  both  behaved  with  such  gallantry.  Per- 
haps there  was  nothing  more  desperate  in  the  history  of 
that  war,  full  as  it  is  of  deeds  of  valor,  (with  perhaps  the 
single  exception  of  the  readiness  with  which  General  Mil- 
ler consented  to  sacrifice  his  life,  when,  to  the  question  of 
the  gallant  Brown,  "  Can  you  take  that  battery  ?"  he  an- 
swered, "  I'll  try !")  than  the  charge  of  cavalry  on  the  Brit- 
ish line,  led  by  Colonels  James  and  R.  M.  Johnson,  at  the 
battle  of  the  Thames. 

It  was  in  that  battle,  as  is  known,  that  the  brave  Te- 
cumthe  fell ;  and  it  is  also  known  that  much  has  been  said 
about "  who  killed  him"  Generally,  the  death  of  this  chief 
has  been  attributed  to  Colonel  R.  M.  Johnson,  but  no  evi- 
dence of  that  fact,  I  believe,  has  been  ever  yet  published. 
Those  who  claimed  this  honor  for  Colonel  Johnson,  have, 
in  the  main,  been  led  to  do  so,  to  make  political  capital  out 
of  it ;  thinking,  doubtless,  that  a  feather  of  this  tall  sort,, 
being  stuck  in  the  colonel's  cap,  would  captivate  such  eyes 


180  MEMOIRS,  &c.,  &c. 

as  were  fitted  to  be  charmed  by  it,  and  lead  to  an  increase 
of  his  popularity.  It  would  be  well  for  the  country,  its 
prosperity,  and  its  hopes,  if  other  and  more  substantial 
claims  to  popular  favor  were  urged,  than  such  as  are  de- 
rived from  the  mere  circumstance  of  killing  an  Indian — 
which  a  chance  shot,  discharged  by  the  veriest  coward, 
might  do  as  effectually,  as  if  aimed  and  delivered  by  the 
bravest  of  the  brave,  or  indeed  an  idiot.  I  have  never 
been  able  to  contemplate  this  downward  tendency  of  things 
— this  making  political  capital  out  of  mere  clap-trap  cir- 
cumstances— without  a  feeling  of  regret.  Other,  and  lof- 
tier qualities,  were  required  by  our  patriotic  fathers.  When 
the  army  of  the  Revolution  was  to  be  furnished  with  a  chief, 
WASHINGTON  was  instinctively  turned  to ;  and  when,  after 
our  independence  was  achieved  through  his  instrumentali- 
ty, a  President  was  required,  the  bright,  and  sterling,  and 
well-tested  virtues  of  Washington,  were  the  attractions 
that  led  the  people,  with  an  almost  unanimous  voice,  to 
confer  upon  him  this  highest  of  civil  trusts. 

There  were  qualities  of  both  head  and  heart  in  Colonel 
R.  M.  Johnson,  and  these  had  been  made  manifest  by  his 
patriotism  in  the  war,  and  by  his  zealous  labors,  and  the 
highly  respectable  position  he  occupied  in  the  councils  of 
the  nation,  out  of  which  legitimate  claims  could  be  set  up, 
for  the  popular  favor.  He  has  served  the  republic  faith- 
fully, in  both  the  Congress  and  the  field,  pouring  his  blood 
out  like  water,  in  defence  of  his  country's  rights.  Here, 
surely,  was  ground  enough  upon  which  to  rest  his  claims 
upon  popular  gratitude,  and  popular  favor,  without  de- 
scending to  make  capital  out  of  the  death  of  Tecumthe  ; 
and  especially  when  not  a  single  one  of  his  adherents  knew 
whether  Colonel  R.  M.  Johnson,  or  any  other  colonel,  had 
killed  him ;  (indeed,  Colonel  Johnson  never  claimed  the 
honor ;)  and  many  of  them  without  knowing  who  Tecum- 
the was,  or  whether,  in  fact,  he  had  been  killed  at  all. 

I  have  known  Colonel  Johnson,  and,  for  a  large  portion 


MEMOIRS,   dec.,  &c.  181 

of  the  time,  intimately,  since  1812.  We  saw  the  necessity 
for  the  war  through  the  same  medium,  and,  indeed,  be- 
longed to  the  same  school  of  politics,  until  about  the  close 
of  Mr.  Monroe's  administration.  We  have  never  been  in 
political  fellowship  since ;  and  the  probability  is,  never 
shall  be.  But  that  is  no  reason  why  I  should  not  appre- 
ciate the  many  good  qualities  which  I  know  him  to  pos- 
sess, and  put  a  just  estimate  upon  his  patriotic  efforts, 
wherever  and  whenever  these  have  been  displayed,  wheth- 
er in  the  Senate  or  the  field.  And  now,  without  looking 
upon  the  man  who  killed  Tecumthe  as  being  entitled,  for 
that  reason,  to  my  vote  for  the  Presidency,  or  any  other 
place  of  honor  and  profit,  I  state  that  Colonel  R.  M.  John- 
son did  kill  Tecumthe,  and  that  none  other  than  his  own 
hand  consigned  that  brave  and  wonderfully-endowed  In- 
dian to  the  dust ;  and  these  are  the  circumstances  out  of 
which  I  derive  the  proof: — • 

A  Pottawattamie  Indian  being  at  St.  Louis,  was  asked 
by  General  Clark, "  Were  you  at  the  battle  of  the  Thames  ?" 
"  I  was."  "  Did  you  see  Tecumthe  in  that  battle  ?"  "  I 
did."  "  Did  you  see  him  shot  ?"  "  I  did."  "  Where  were 
you  when  he  fell  ?"  "  Close  by  him."  "  Who  killed  him  ?" 
"  Don't  know."  "  Did  you  see  the  man  who  killed  him  ?" 
"  Yes."  "  What  sort  of  a  looking  man  was  he  ?"  "  Short, 
thick  man."  "  Was  this  short,  thick  man,  on  horseback  ?" 
"  Yes."  "  What  was  the  color  of  the  horse  he  rode  ?" 
"  White."  "  How  do  you  know  the  short,  thick  man,  on  a 
white  horse,  killed  Tecumthe  ?"  "  I  saw  him  shoot  him." 
"  When  did  you  first  see  the  man  on  the  white  horse  ?" 
"  When  he  was  galloping  up  in  front  of  where  Tecumthe 
stood,  his  horse  got  tangled  in  the  top  of  a  tree  that  was 
blown  down ;  and  while  he  was  there,  Tecumthe  raised 
his  rifle,  and  fired.  Saw  the  man  go  so — (reel  on  his 
horse,  imitating  the  motion) — horse  got  out  of  the  bushes 
— the  man  spurred  him— came  galloping  up — came  close 
— Tecumthe  raise  his  tomahawk,  just  going  to  fling  it— 


182  MEMOIRS,  &c.,  &c. 

white  man  raise  pistol — fire — Tecumthe  fell — we  all  run 
away." 

On  hearing  this  statement,  which  I  did  from  General 
Clark  himself,  I  wrote  a  letter  to  Colonel  Johnson,  in 
which  I  inquired  (without  his  knowing  my  object)  what 
was  the  color  of  the  horse  he  rode  at  the  battle  of  the 
Thames  ?  To  which  he  answered,  a  white  mare.  Where 
were  you,  when  you  received  the  rifle-ball  in  the  fore- 
knuckle  of  your  bridle  hand  ?  To  this  he  replied,  in  sub- 
stance, (I  have  not  his  letter  at  hand)  my  mare  was  at  the 
time  entangled  in  the  branches  of  a  tree  that  lay  across 
the  line  of  my  advance  to  the  British  line ;  and  while  there, 
I  saw  an  Indian  aim  at  me,  and  fire.  I  received  the  ball 
near  the  upper  joint  of  the  fore-finger  of  my  bridle  hand. 
Getting  out  of  the  difficulty,  I  spurred  the  mare,  drawing 
a  pistol  from  my  holster  with  my  right  hand,  having  thrown 
the  reins  of  the  bridle  over  my  left  arm,  and,  as  I  neared 
the  line,  the  same  Indian  raised  his  tomahawk ;  when,  with 
what  little  strength  I  had  left,  I  raised  my  pistol,  and  fired — 
and  from  that  moment  lost  all  sense  of  what  was  going  on." 
Colonel  Johnson  knew  nothing  of  the  effect  of  his  fire. 
His  mare,  he  was  told,  wheeled  with  him,  at  the  moment 
of  the  discharge  of  his  pistol,  galloped  to  the  American 
lines,  and  fell,  being  pierced  through  with  many  balls.  The 
Indian  further  told  General  Clark,  that  Tecumthe  was  hit 
in  the  forehead,  or  near  the  corner  of  one  of  his  eyes,  with 
a  ball.  I  learned  afterwards,  that,  besides  the  bullet  wound, 
near  the  eye-brow,  there  were  three  oblique  cuts  on  the 
person  of  Tecumthe,  as  if  made  by  a  knife — one  down  his 
thigh,  and  two  others  in  other  front  parts  of  his  body.  To 
the  question  put  by  me  to  Colonel  Johnson,  how  was 
your  pistol  loaded?  he  answered,  "with  one  ball,  and 
three  buck-shot."  The  ball,  therefore,  took  effect  in  the 
head  of  the  chief,  and  the  buck-shot,  scattering,  cut  his 
flesh,  in  a  descending  line,  as  they  must  needs  have  done, 


MEMOIRS,   &c.,  &c.  183 

as  stated,  Colonel  Johnson's   position  being   above  Te- 
cumthe's. 

The  foregoing  are  the  circumstances  which  furnish  the 
proof — to  my  mind  amounting  to  demonstration — that 
Colonel  Richard  M.  Johnson  killed  Tecumthe. 

On  the  evening  of  Tuesday,  16th,  opened  the  council 
with  the  Choctaws.  For  the  ceremonies  of  that  council, 
and  its  results,  see  Appendix,  (G.)  If  my  power  had  been 
plenary — in  other  words,  if  I  had  been  authorized  to  treat 
with  them  for  an  exchange  of  country,  and  in  all  other 
matters  to  have  adjusted  our  relations  with  them,  I  should 
have  succeeded.  Their  words  were — "If  you  had  the 
power  to  do  everything,  and  it  had  not  to  go  into  other  hands, 
it  (their  decision)  might  be  different.  We  have  confidence 
in  you,"  $c.  See  Appendix,  (G.) 

A  runner  came  to  announce  that  a  child  had  been  badly 
burned  at  a  house  just  below  the  agency.  I  hastened  to 
see  it.  I  found  the  poor  little  thing  in  the  greatest  ago- 
nies— but  there  were  no  remedies  at  hand  for  its  relief. 
How  such  a  case  of  human  suffering  lifts  to  the  mind  the 
enriching  excellencies  of  civilized  and  contiguous  soci- 
ety !  I  asked  for  lime — the  meaning  of  the  word  was 
hardly  comprehended.  I  called  for  eggs,  and  for  sweet  oil — 
the  first  were  handed  me,  the  last  I  obtained  at  the  agency. 
I  made  a  mixture  of  the  yolk  of  the  egg  and  of  the  oil ;  and, 
by  means  of  bandages  made  of  my  pocket-hankerchiefs, 
dressed  the  wounds  of  the  little  sufferer,  as  well  as  my 
means  would  allow. 

Thursday,  the  18th  October,  left  the  agency  for  Colum- 
bus, twenty-five  miles  distant.  Called,  by  the  way,  at 
Folsom's,  and  Major  Pitchlyn's.  Overtook  numerous  In- 
dians of  both  sexes,  going  to  the  ball-play.  The  whole 
nation  seemed  to  be  in  motion,  pushing  for  the  theatre 
where  the  great  fete  was  to  be  performed — women,  often, 
in  their  anxiety  to  get  there,  on  a  trot ;  men  on  horse-back, 
at  half  speed.  On  these  occasions,  a  large  portion  of  the 


184  MEMOIRS,  &c.,  &c. 

property  of  the  two  nations,  the  Chickasaws  and  Choc- 
taws,  changes  hands.  They  bet  their  all.  The  strife  is 
intense ;  the  excitement,  excessive.  Such  are  the  exer- 
tions, as  sometimes  to  dislocate  joints,  break  bones,  and 
life,  in  various  ways,  is  often  put  in  jeopardy. 

Fell  in  with  flocks  of  wild  turkeys,  frightened  from  their 
retreats,  doubtless,  by  the  rush  of  the  ball-play-goers, 
through  all  parts  of  the  country.  Crossed,  the  Tombig- 
bee — paid  one  dollar  and  a  quarter  toll  for  two  horses,  and 
a  small  wagon,  over  the  stream. 

Arrived  at  Columbus,  where  I  found  Mrs.  M.,  of  the 
Mayhew  mission,  a  beautiful  sufferer — beautiful  in  her 
person,  and  beautiful  in  her  resignation.  She  looked  like 
one  of  those  white  fleecy  clouds,  that  are  sometimes  seen 
in  a  summer's  day,  when  just  on  the  eve  of  vanishing,  and 
mingling  with  the  ethereal.  Prescribed  for  her,  but  with 
little  expectation  that  she  would  be  long  retained  from  her 
heavenly  rest,  for  which  her  pious  life  and  gentle, spirit  had 
fitted  her. 

I  found,  there,  a  brother  and  sister  of  Colonel  Abert, 
the  distinguished  topographical  engineer,  at  this  time,  I 
believe,  in  charge  of  the  Topographical  Bureau  at  Washing- 
ton. They  were  charmingly  situated,  and  I  was  charged, 
on  my  arrival  at  Washington,  to  say  so  to  the  colonel. 
Met,  also,  Governor  Adair.  This  venerable  man,  and 
patriot,  I  found  in  a  very  inferior  state  of  health.  It  had 
fallen  to  his  lot  to  command  the  Kentucky  troops,  in  the 
last  war,  at  New  Orleans.  I  had  seen  an  authenticated 
statement  of  his  services  on  that  memorable  occasion, 
shown  to  me  by  his  son-in-law,  "  Florida  White,"  as  it  was 
the  custom  to  call  him.  History  will,  I  have  no  doubt,  do 
this  pure  patriot  and  gallant  officer  justice.  A  great  wrong 
will  be  done  to  his  memory  and  fame,  if  it  shall  not. 

I  was  piloted  out  of  Columbus  by  the  venerable  Judge 
Cocke — and  took  the  wagon-road  for  Tuscaloosa.  The 
name  of  this  gentleman  reminds  me  that  I  might  as  well 


MEMOIRS,  &c.,  &c.  185 

state  here  the  reason  why  I  omitted  to  go  with  any  mes- 
sage to  the  Cherokees.  Congress  had  made  an  appropri- 
ation of  a  sum  of  money  for  the  purpose  of  holding  a  trea- 
ty with  the  Cherokees,  to  obtain  their  consent  to  open  a 
way,  by  means  of  a  canal  connecting  the  waters  of  the 
Canasaga  and  Highwassee.  Commissioners  were  then 
in  the  Cherokee  country  to  carry  out  this  object.  I  did 
not  feel  at  liberty  to  call  off  the  attention  of  the  Indians 
from  this  negotiation ;  and  so  I  passed  on  to  the  Creeks. 
General  John  Cocke  was  a  commissioner  to  treat  with  the 
Cherokees.  I  was  satisfied  the  attempt  would  prove  a 
failure,  and  was  the  less  willing,  therefore,  to  go  among 
them,  lest  it  might  be  inferred  that  I  had  been  the  cause 
of  it. 

The  way  to  Tuscaloosa  was  horrible.  Twenty-five 
miles  of  it  were  over  rugged  mountains,  and  almost  im- 
passable roads.  I  was  two  hours  after  night,  literally  feel- 
ing, not  seeing,  my  way ;  and  the  darkness  was  so  great, 
that  I  could  not  see  my  horse's  mane,  though  it  was  white. 
The  wagon,  with  the  intrepid  Ben,  were  constantly  in  dif- 
ficulty. It  was  one  mud-hole  after  another,  and  our  united 
strength  was  often  put  in  requisition  to  disengage  the 
wheels  from  their  deep-set  connection  with  unknown 
depths  of  mud  and  water.  Our  progress  was  about  a  mile 
an  hour.  Encamped  somewhere,  but  know  not  where,  and 
never  expect  to  know.  Saturday,  20th,  rose  at  day-break, 
did  the  best  we  could,  over  thirty  miles  of  similar  roads. 
On  nearing  the  Black  Warrior,  saw  a  fire.  It  looked  like 
a  city  in  a  blaze.  The  woods  were  in  flames.  The  coun- 
try was  lighted  by  them  for  many  miles ;  and,  on  nearing 
this  grand  spectacle,  the  ear  came  in  for  part  of  the  effect, 
in  the  cracking,  and  snapping,  and  the  terrible  crash  made, 
ever  and  anon,  by  the  falling  of  trees ;  when  the  corrusca- 
tions  from  each  crash  would  illumine,  as  it  seemed,  the 
whole  universe.  By  the  light  of  this  fire,  I  reached  the 
Black  Warrior,  when  it  almost  instantly  faded,  and  dark- 

VOL.  I.  24 


186  MEMOIRS,  &c.,  &c. 

ness  fell  suddenly  upon  everything.  The  ferryman  refused 
to  ferry  me  over — alleging  it  was  too  dark,  and  the  cur- 
rent, he  said,  was  too  rapid.  I  told  him  I  must  go  over, 
and  if  he  found  it  inconvenient  to  ferry  me  across,  I  would 
go  witljput  him.  He  then  lighted  some  pine-knots,  and 
ferried  us  over.  When  about  midway,  the  fire  in  the 
woods  blazed  up  again,  and  continued  till  I  ascended  the 
hill  on  the  Tuscaloosa  side  of  the  Black  Warrior,  amidst 
an  almost  dazzling  light;  which,  however,  soon  went  out, 
leaving  me  again  in  thick  darkness.  Passing  a  small  house, 
I  rode  up,  and  inquired  the  way,  and  whether  there  were 
any  ditches,  or  bad  roads,  of  any  sort,  and  received  for 
answer  many  things  that  made  everything  uncertain ;  so 
I  asked  for  a  guide,  and  procured  one  in  the  person  of  a 
little,  old,  Virginia,  Orange  county  negro.  Without  him, 
or  somebody  just  like  him,  I  felt,  as  I  progressed,  that  I 
should  never  have  found  my  way,  till  the  day  should  break, 
and  reveal  it  to  me.  By  the  aid  of  this  little  old  blackey — 
the  very  image  of  "  little  Billy"  who  is  known  to  every- 
body in  Portland,  besides  to  half  the  people  of  the  globe, 
according  to  his  account,  I  reached  Tuscaloosa  at  nine 
o'clock,  P.  M.,  horses  jaded,  and  almost  broken  down,  Ben 
in  a  condition  not  much  better,  and  myself  ready  for  rest. 
How  composing  was  the  thought  that  to-morrow  will  be 
the  Sabbath !  Oh,  how  welcome  is  this  day  of  rest  to  the 
weary !  How  demonstrable  the  wisdom  and  love  of  that 
Good  Being  who  ordained  it ! 

After  a  charming  night  of  the  most  refreshing  sleep, 
arose,  breakfasted,  and  wended  my  way  to  the  Methodist 
church.  I  could  not  recall  to  mind  a  Sabbath  of  greater 
rest.  I  luxuriated  in  it. 

Tuscaloosa  reminded  me  of  Detroit — the  ground  level, 
the  apparent  dimensions  of  both  alike,  the  houses  being 
in  about  the  same  proportion,  built  of  brick  and  of  wood ; 
streets  wide.  If  the  Black  Warrior  ran  north  of  the  town, 
it  would  answer  for  the  river  Detroit, 


MEMOIRS,  &c.,  &c.  187 

Proceeded  on  Monday,  rode  thirty  miles,  and  encamped. 
Tuesday,  to  Cahawba  Falls,  by  nine,  A.  M.,  to  breakfast. 
Day  fine.  Thence  'on  to  Sawyer's  Mills,  where  I  en- 
camped. Reached  Foreman's,  on  the  pine  flats,  on  the 
24th,  and  tarried  there  for  the  night.  Crossed  the  Alaba- 
ma on  the  25th,  and  arrived  at  Montgomery,  where  I  re- 
mained all  night.  Met  there  with  the  number  of  the  North 
American  Review  containing  a  review  of  my  "  Tour  to  the 
Lakes"  Read  it  with  eagerness,  and  with  satisfaction. 
The  commendations  were  far  above  what  I  had  hoped  for. 

Rose  early,  and  pushed  on  for  my  place  of  destination, 
the  Creek  agency,  at  Fort  Mitchell,  in  Alabama,  on  the 
Chattahoochee.  Fell  in  with  the  agent,  Colonel  Crowell, 
some  ten  miles  from  the  agency,  who  accompanied  me  to 
his  home,  where,  as  soon  as  I  arrived,  I  commenced  ope- 
rations for  convening  the  Creeks,  in  council,  at  Tuckha- 
batchee.  Despatched  a  messenger  with  a  talk,  to  Opoth- 
leyoholo,  he  being  the  organ  of  communication,  as  speaker 
of  the  Creek  councils,  to  the  nation,  inviting  him  to  come 
and  see  me.  His  answer  foreboded  difficulties.  He  could 
not  come,  assigning  as  the  reason  that  he  was  not  well 
enough.  I  succeeded,  however,  in  getting  him  to  meet 
me.  The  result  was  a  call  of  the  council,  and  a  final  ar- 
rangement by  treaty,  and  settlement  of  all  the  difficulties 
that  had  for  so  long  a  time  existed  between  the  Creek  na- 
tion, the  State  of  Georgia,  and  the  federal  government. 
Every  foot  of  land  remaining  to  the  Creeks,  of  what  was 
once  their  immense  domain  in  Georgia,  was  now  ceded ; 
and  henceforth  they  were  to  be  confined  to  their  posses- 
sions in  Alabama. 

Having  disposed  of  my  horses,  and  travelling  and  camp 
equipage,  to  Colonel  Crowell,  I  took  the  stage  at  the  door 
of  the  agency,  having  adopted,  at  the  request  of  their  pa- 
rents and  friends,  two  Indian  youths,  William  Barnard  and 
Lee  Compere  ;  the  first  a  Creek,  the  other  a  Uchee ;  and 
these,  with  the  Honorable  William  R.  Ring,  then  a  senator 


188  MEMOIRS,   &c.,  &c. 

in  Congress,  now  minister  to  France,  were  my  compa- 
nions. 

My  little  Indian  boys  were  about  ten  and  thirteen  years 
old,  Lee  being  the  youngest.  His  Indian  name  was  Arbor. 
After  leaving  the  agency  some  thirty  miles,  this  little  fellow 
gave  signs  of  great  restlessness,  and  kept  muttering  some- 
thing in  Uchee,  which  William  interpreted.  "  He  wanted 
to  go  home."  This  was  the  burden  of  his  muttering.  So 
I  thought  I  would  test  the  self-relying  feeling  which  I  had 
often  heard  attributed  to  Indians,  even  of  his  tender  age, 
as  also  their  trust  in  their  instinct.  I  knew  he  could  have 
no  knowledge  of  the  way  he  had  come,  for  he,  and  Wil- 
liam, and  Ben,  had  occupied  the  front  seat  of  the  stage,  and 
had  travelled  backwards.  I  called  to  the  driver,  request- 
ing him  to  stop.  He  did  so.  Now,  William,  tell  Lee  he 
can  go  home,  if  he  wishes  to  go.  This  was  scarcely  said, 
before  the  little  fellow,  who  had  learned  some  English  at 
the  missionary  school,  seized  his  bundle,  and  was,  in  a 
twinkling,  out  at  the  side  of  the  stage,  and  going  down 
over  one  of  the  fore-wheels ;  when,  seeing  him  determined 
to  go,  I  told  Ben  to  reach  out  and  take  him  in.  He  was 
inconsolable,  and  remained  so  till  we  reached  Augusta,  in 
Georgia. 

On  arriving  there,  I  sent  Ben  out  with  them,  with  direc- 
tions to  clothe  them  in  the  best  manner,  and  to  buy  for 
each  a  plaid  cloak,  and  a  handsome  cap.  Ben  was  fortu- 
nate in  securing  quite  a  handsome  and  perfectly  well-fitting 
suit,  including  the  cloaks  and  the  caps.  I  then  had  their 
hair  cut.  Ben  took  them  into  a  chamber  of  the  hotel,  and 
gave  them  a  thorough  cleansing ;  when  they  were  brought 
to  me,  dressed,  not  in  a  very  handsome  suit  of  clothes, 
only,  but  in  smiles.  A  couple  of  prettier  boys  could  be 
found  nowhere. 

I  had  rode  all  night,  after  leaving  Augusta;  and  stopping 
at  a  public  stand  to  breakfast,  I  directed  Ben  to  go  with 
the  boys  to  the  breakfast-table,  and  attend  to  them  there. 


MEMOIRS,  &c.,  &c.  189 

while  I  shaved.  On  going  in  myself,  I  saw  the  two  boys 
with  Ben,  standing  at  the  back  door  of  the  passage. 
What,  Ben,  I  inquired,  through  with  breakfast  already  ? 
"  Oh,  lord,  sir,"  said  Ben,  "I  was  sent  out  in  a  jifFey." 
Why,  what's  the  matter  ?  "  The  lady,  sir,"  answered  Ben, 
"  says  she  don't  allow  Indians  to  eat  at  her  table."  I  took 
the  boys,  each  by  a  hand,  and  went  in,  and  as  I  was  about 
seating  them,  each  on  one  side  of  me,  the  good  lady,  at 
the  head  of  the  table,  sprang  to  her  feet,  gave  her  chair  a 
push  backwards,  threw  her  head  well  up,  and,  with  her  arm 
extended,  and  her  fist  clenched,  accompanied  by  a  wild 
and  vengeful  expression,  her  lips  compressed,  she  looked 
at  me,  saying,  "  Sir,  I  will  not  allow  Indians  to  come  to  my 
table"  I  am  sorry,  madam,  I  rep^ed,  to  be  obliged,  on 
this  occasion,  to  trespass  on  your  rules,  but  these  little 
boys  must  have  their  breakfast,  and  just  as  they  are  now 
seated,  with  me.  I  am  their  protector,  and  have  taken 
care  of  their  persons,  so  as  to  render  them  quite  prepared 
for  your  table,  or  any  other  table  in  Georgia.* 

She  flew  out  of  the  room,  saying — "  I'//  send  my  hus- 

*  On  my  arrival  at  home,  these  little  boys  were  made  part  of  my  family ;  and 
were  adopted  by  the  government.  Their  education,  and  the  supervision  of  their 
entire  circumstances,  devolved  on  me.  I  sent  them  to  a  school,  at  that  time  kept 
in  Georgetown,  and  upon  the  principle  of  the  West  Point  Academy.  The  uni- 
form required  to  be  worn,  I  knew,  would  furnish  a  tie  to  this  school,  of  the  most 
agreeable  sort.  Both  these  children  made  the  usual  progress  in  learning,  and  were 
tractable,  and  well  disposed.  The  little  one,  Lee,  had  in  him  a  portion  of  obsti- 
nacy which  never  showed  itself  in  William.  He  was,  however,  younger,  and 
had  not  been  favored  with  so  many  advantages  in  instruction,  at  school  and  other- 
wise, as  had  been  enjoyed  by  William.  Strong  attachments  were  formed  in  them, 
both  for  me  and  my  family,  as  the  sequel  will  show. 

When  I  was  dismissed  from  office,  I  included  in  my  arrangements  for  leaving 
Washington,  a  plan  for  the  furtherance  of  the  welfare  of  these  children.  They 
had  been  confided  to  me  by  their  parents  and  friends,  and  I  felt  bound,  besides  the 
interest  I  took  in  their  welfare,  to  carry  out  what  I  knew  was  the  will  of  their 
parents,  as  well  as  to  make  good  all  their  expectations,  so  far  as  it  might  be  in 
my  power  to  do  so.  In  a  word,  I  felt  the  trust  to  be  a  sacred  one.  Accordingly, 
I  applied  to  President  Jackson,  for  his  permission  to  take  them  with  me  to  Philadel- 
phia. It  was  refused.  On  making  this  known  to  the  boys,  they  grew  sad,  and 


190  MEMOIRS,  &c.,  &c. 

band  after  you"  By  the  time  Ben  had  poured  out  the 
coffee,  the  good  man  of  the  house  entered,  saying,  "  Sir, 
this  is  against  my  rules."  I  can't  help  it,  sir.  Your's  is  a 
public  house.  We  are  travellers.  Those  little  boys  are 
very  near  to  me,  and  I  shall  see,  wherever  I  go,  that  they 
occupy  the  same  level  which  I  do ;  and  my  advice  to  you,  as 
a  friend,  is  to  keep  cool,  and  leave  the  room.  I  shall  pay 
you  for  our  fare.  "  Well,  sir,"  said  he,  "  I  suppose  it 
must  be  so,"  and  went  out ! 

gave  signs  of  great  distress.  At  last,  of  their  own  accord,  they  wrote,  and  took 
to  the  President  the  following  note : — 

"  Great  Father— 

"  We  are  in  trouble — our  friend  Colonel  McKenney  is  going  away — we  want  to 
go  with  him.  We  don't  want  to  stay  here  without  him.  He  is  our  friend.  We 
love  him,  he  is  good  to  us — do  not,  Father,  let  us  be  taken  away  from  him.  We 
ask  you  to  let  us  go  with  ColoiJIl  McKenney.  He  is  like  a  father  to  us.  We 
came  from  our  nation  with  him.  When  we  leave  here,  we  want  to  go  back  ;  but 
we  do  not  want  to  go  back,  if  we  can  go  with  him.  We  come  to  see  our  Father 
with  this  talk — we  hope  he  will  not  deny  what  we  come  for. 

WILLIAM  BARNARD, 
LEE  COMPERE." 

There  is  no  date  to  this.  It  is  in  the  hand-writing  of  William.  The  original 
is  now  before  me ;  and  I  have  copied  it,  in  all  respects.  They  kept  together,  and 
avoided  seeing  anybody — and  would  not  come  to  their  meals  till  after  the  family 
had  separated.  I  said  to  them,  perhaps  your  Great  Father,  if  you  were  to  see 
him,  and  tell  him  you  wish  to  go  with  me,  would  gratify  you — he  may  not  know 
it  is  your  wish.  William  replied — "  We  have  been  to  see  him,  and  (pulling  from 
his  pocket  the  foregoing  letter,)  handed  him  that."  After  I  had  read  it,  I  asked 
what  his  answer  was.  "  He  said  you  can't  go  with  him — you  must  go  home  to 
your  people."  I  retained  the  paper.  I  ,.  . 

In  making  my  arrangements  to  leave  Washington,  I  concluded  such  as  embra- 
ced the  comfort  of  these  poor  boys,  until  the  President  should  dispose  of  them,  by 
taking  board  for  them,  and  continuing  them  at  school.  The  day  I  left  Washing- 
ton, they  were  inconsolable,  and  wept  bitterly.  I  soothed  them  by  telling  them 
I  should  come  again,  before  long,  and  see  them — when  the  carriage  drove  off. 
Just  as  we  were  ascending  the  capitol-hill,  a  gentleman  called.  The  coach  was 
stopped.  "  Colonel,"  said  he,  "  your  little  Indian  boys  are  trotting  after  the  car- 
riage, and  seem  much  fatigued."  I  stepped  out,  and  told  them,  if  they  loved  me, 
they  must  go  back.  I  reasoned  with  them,  and  they  became  more  composed, 
when  I  called  a  hack,  put  them  in  it,  and  we  parted.  I  have  never  seen  them 
since.  They  were  sent  home  to  their  country  soon  after.  Of  William,  I  heard 
that  he  never  recovered  from  his  depression — became  desperate — and,  getting 
into  an  Indian  quarrel,  a  fight  ensued,  in  which  some  of  the  parties  were  killed, 
he  left  the  Creek  country,  and  joined  the  Seminoles  in  Florida.  Of  Lee,  I  have 
never  heard  anything. 


MEMOIRS,  &c.,  &c.  191 


CHAPTER  IX. 

RETURN  TO  WASHINGTON.  CHANGE  OF  ADMINISTRATION. 
POLITICAL  EXCITEMENT.  CORRUPTION  AND  FAVORITISM 
IN  HIGH  PLACES. 

Arrival  at  Washington — Mr.  Barbour's  estimate  of  my  services — Adjustment  of 
my  accounts — Political  agitation — Personal  abuse — Duff  Green's  account — 
His  "  mark" — The  work  of  proscription  going  on — Pledges  honestly  given — 
How  fulfilled — Duff  Green's  first  appearance  at  Washington — How  he  went 
ahead — Strife  for  office — Interview  with  President  Jackson — Charges — Satis- 
factorily answered — Result — A  call  at  my  office — An  office  not  wanted— The 
office  of  Indian  affairs — General  Eaton  and  Duff  Green — General  Houston — 
"  Proposal" — A  second  and  third  interview — Proposals  for  contracts  to  supply 
the  Indians — Ben  Hawkins,  alias  General  Houston — A  rat  behind  the  curtain — 
"  Bids"— Actual  cost  of  rations,  and  removal  of  the  Indians — Extracts  from 
documents — Bold  favoritism — General  Houston  in  a  rage — A  scene  with  my 
clerks — Almost  displaced. 

•  t  .1  .'       •'•  f'-i-    *      ••' ' 

ON  my  arrival  at  Milledgeville,  I  announced  the  adjust- 
ment of  the  difficulties.  See  Appendix,  (H.)  The  an- 
nunciation that  a  treaty  had  been  made,  preceded  me  by 
a  day.  I  had  scarcely  time  to  reach  Washington  in  sea- 
son for  the  President's  message ;  but,  by  constant  travel- 
ling, night  and  day,  I  arrived  there  just  three  days  before 
the  message  was  sent  in — leaving  me  time  only  to  make 
up  my  official  report.  The  appendix,  as  referred  to,  con- 
tains my  report  to  the  Secretary  of  War,  embracing,  in 
an  official  form,  all  that  had  been  accomplished  under  my 
commissions,  during  those  travels,  since  parting  from  Gen- 
eral Cass. 

On  reaching  the  War  Department,  I  was  met  in  the 
passage-way,  by  the  Hon.  James  Barbour,  then  Secretary 
of  War,  who,  reaching  out  both  hands,  grasping  one  of 


192  MEMOIRS,  &c.,  &c. 

mine,  said — "  Is  it  indeed  so,  that  you  have  concluded  a 
treaty  with  the  Creeks?"  It  is,  sir.  "Then,  sir,"  he 
added,  "  there  is  not  money  enough  in  the  treasury,  to 
pay  you  for  what  you  have  accomplished" — when  he  left 
me,  and  went  over  to  the  President's.  The  treaty  was 
ratified  by  the  Senate,  and  the  exciting  circumstances  that 
had  so  long  continued  to  vex  Georgia,  and  trouble  the 
Executive  of  the  Union,  so  far,  at  least,  as  the  Creek  Indi- 
ans were  concerned,  were  put  to  rest,  and  forever. 

My  special  commission  (that  of  March  28,  1827,)  re- 
ferring to  me  the  duties  which  I  left  Green  Bay  to  execute, 
stipulated  that  my  "  compensation  should  be  fixed  on  my  re- 
turn,  and  made  equivalent  to  the  extent  and  value  of  my 
services"  After  having  been  some  time  at  home,  I  suggest- 
ed to  the  secretary,  that  when  he  should  be  at  leisure, 
I  was  prepared  with  my  accounts,  and  ready  for  their  ad- 
justment. "  Sir,"  said  he,  "  I  have  been  thinking  of  this. 
I  know  the  terms  upon  which  you  undertook  this  almost 
hopeless  mission;  and  I  know,  also,  that  your  services 
have  been  immensely  valuable  ;  and  whilst  I  set  an  almost 
priceless  value  on  them,  I  am  compelled,  that  no  cry  of 
favoritism  may  be  raised,  to  limit  your  compensation  to 
the  pay  of  a  commissioner."  I  am  perfectly  satisfied,  sir, 
I  replied,  and  will  make  up  my  accounts  upon  that  basis. 

I  sent  my  messenger  to  the  office  of  the  Second  Audi- 
tor, with  a  request  to  Mr.  John  Peters,  the  ablest  and  most 
efficient  clerk  in  the  office,  to  come  to  my  room.  So  ta- 
king down  a  United  States  map,  I  requested  him  to  mark 
and  measure  my  route — from  Washington  to  Green  Bay, 
and  from  Green  Bay  by  the  way  of  the  route  I  had  re- 
turned home.  It  made,  (I  write  from  memory,)  seven 
thousand  miles.  He  knew  the  day  I  had  left  home  for 
Green  Bay ;  and  now  having  the  distance,  I  referred  to 
him  the  making  up  of  my  account  for  my  per  diem  allow- 
ance, and  for  the  mileage.  I  was  gone  about  seven  months. 
He  stated  my  account,  certifying  that  he  had  measured 


MEMOIRS,  &c.,  &c.  193 

the  distance,  and  that  it  was  made  up,  and  correctly,  upon 
the  basis  of  the  pay  to  a  commissioner.  I  handed  it  to 
the  Secretary  of  War,  who  said,  "  I  have  no  doubt  it  is  all 
right — but  that  I  may  be  able  to  say  I  examined  the  route 
myself,  bring  in  your  map,  and  let  me  go  over  your  track." 
It  was  done.  He  went  over  the  whole,  making  also  the 
calculations,  and  found  all  was  right ;  when  he  took  his  pen, 
and  wrote  upon  it,  "  Approved — /.  Barbour" 

Political  agitation,  and  of  a  sort  more  bitter  and  more 
fierce  than  any  that  had  ever  preceded  it,  had  now  be- 
come universal.  Mr.  Adams  and  his  administration,  the 
ability  and  economy,  and  purity  of  which,  no  honest  and 
intelligent  man  doubted,  was  to  come  down,  "  though  it  was 
as  pure  as  the  angels  at  the  right  hand  of  God!"  The 
Washington  Telegraph,  edited  by  Duff  Green,  took  the 
lead  in  this  war,  and  was  the  caldron  in  which  the  elements 
were  concocted,  that  were  to  be  employed  by  the  party  in 
opposition  to  Mr.  Adams,  to  overthrow  his  administration. 
Every  day  sent  forth  fulminating  matter,  until  the  country 
rang  with  the  fierce  cry  of  "  intrigue — bargain — and  cor- 
ruption ;"  and  this  was  the  battering-ram  chosen  by  the 
party  in  opposition  to  the  administration  of  Mr.  Adams  for 
its  overthrow.  I  shall  be  excused,  I  hope,  for  giving  it  as 
my  firnt  belief,  that  not  one  of  the  original  contrivers  of 
this  master-stroke  of  the  political  engine,  believed  it  to  be 
true.*  Names,  intended  to  be  opprobrious,  were  invented 
and  applied  to  functionaries  of  the  government,  with  the 
clap-trap  purpose  of  taking  the  fancy  of  those  whose  ca- 
pacity was  too  shallow  to  be  stirred  by  things  of  more 
solid  or  truthful  import. 

Humble  as  was  my  position  in  the  government,  I  was 
not  permitted  to  escape.  Day  after  day,  the  Telegraph 
teemed  with  abuse  of  me.  In  vain  did  two  of  General 

*  This  charge  has  been  anaylzed  by  Mr.  Colton  in  his  life  of  Henry  Clay.    It 
is  now  put  beyond  all  doubt,  that  my  opinion  of  it  was  correct. 

VOL.  i.  25 


194  MEMOIRS,  &c,,  &c. 

Jackson's  friends  interfere  to  stay  these  onsets,  by  repre- 
senting to  Green  their  injustice,  etc.  The  answer  given 
by  him  to  one  of  them  was — "  He  (meaning  me)  was  the 
author  of  a  letter  signed  P.  B.  K.,  wherein  my  name  and 
my  course  were  assailed  ;  and,  whilst  I  can  hold  a  pen,  he 
shall  feel  its  power."  This  might  have  been  the  spark  that 
fired  the  magazine  of  this  gentleman's  wrath,  but  it  was, 
by  some,  shrewdly  suspected  that  my  inability  to  make  a 
certain  account,  amounting  to  some  sixty  thousand  dollars,* 
square  with  the  provisions  of  either  the  intercourse  law  of 
1802,  or  with  my  conscience  ;  and  the  reference  which  I 
recommended  of  that  account  to  the  Committee  of  Indian 
affairs  of  the  Senate — the  chairmen  of  which,  Colonel 
Benton  and  General  Green,  being  not  on  terms  of  the 
most  harmonious  sort — as  Green  told  me — and  which  re- 
ference had  been  "  approved"  by  the  Secretary  of  War, 
and  acted  upon,  was  at  least  one  of  the  reasons  of  all  those 
assaults  upon  me.  Two  accounts  had  been  handed  to  rne 
by  General  Green,  at  the  same  time— that  to  which  I  have 
referred,  and  which  claimed,  in  the  names  of  numerous 
settlers,  remuneration  for  spoliations  alleged  to  have  been 
committed  upon  them  by  certain  Indians ;  and  another, 
amounting  to  some  five  or  six  hundred  dollars,  (I  write 
from  memory,)  for  cattle  that  General  Green  had  furnished 
to  the  garrison  at  Prairie  du  Chien,  as  contractor,  and 
which  had  been  driven  off  by  the  Indians  after  they  had 
been  turned  over  to  the  proper  officer.  This  last  account, 
as  the  certificate  of  my  agent  at  Prairie  du  Chien,  Nich- 
olas Boilvan,  at  the  Prairie,  I  recommended  for  payment. 
It  was  paid.  It  was  to  inquire  after  these  accounts,  and 
shortly  after  their  reference  to  the  Senate  Committee,  that 
General  Green  came  to  my  office.  On  learning  the  dis- 
position that  had  been  made  of  the  large  account,  he  flew 
into  a  passion,  and  after  giving  vent  to  much  wrath  against 
myself,  and  making  known  the  sort  of  relations  that  exist- 

*  I  write  from  memory.    The  sum  was  enormous. 


MEMOIRS,   &c.,  &c.  195 

ed  between  him  and  Colonel  Benton,  "  a  man,"  he  said, 
"  whom  I  cannot  approach,"  and  receiving  from  me  an  ap- 
propriate response,  he  left  the  room,  shaking  his  finger  at 
me,  saying,  "  /'//  mark  you,  sir  !" 

Now  it  might  have  been  this  circumstance,  or  Mr.  Key's 
letter,  or  both,  that  had  kindled  General  Green's  wrath, 
and  made  it  burn  so  fiercely,  and  with  such  constancy,  in 
his  Telegraph,  against  me.  When  the  ordinary  means  of 
assault  failed,  the  resort  was  had  to  the  extraordinary — and 
I  was  known  by  the  title  of  "  KICKAPOO  AMBASSADOR  !" 

General  Jackson  having  succeeded  to  the  Presidency, 
and  General  Duff  Green,  with  his  Telegraph,  becoming 
the  organ  of  "  the  government,"  I  saw,  from  the  known  in- 
fluence that  Green  exercised  over  the  President,  that  among 
the  officers  who  were  destined  to  be  struck  down,  I  was 
one.  General  Jackson  had  not  been  long  in  power,  before 
one  after  another  of  the  officers  of  the  government  were 
dismissed.  The  promise,  that  "  General  Jackson  will  re- 
ward his  friends,  and  punish  his  enemies,"  was  now  in  a 
course  of  rapid  fulfilment ;  and  ever  and  anon,  as  one  and 
another  of  the  faithful,  experienced,  and  long-tried  officers, 
were  struck  down,  the  cry  went  forth  from  "  the  Telegraph" 
"  THE  WORK  GOES  BRAVELY  ON  !"  No  matter  how  long,  or 
how  faithful  had  been  the  service  rendered  by  the  victim ; 
nor  how  indispensable  was  his  "  experience"  towards  the 
right  action  of  the  government,  or  the  protection  of  the  public 
interests ;  nor  how  dependent  his  position,  for  the  means 
of  support  for  himself  and  family,  nor  how  unblemished 
his  character,  if  those  who  held  "  the  list"  resolved  to  put 
"  the  mark"  to  his  name,  he  was  sure  to  go.  Had  some  of 
these  been  appointed  by  Washington  ?  No  matter — even 
if  it  be  the  venerable  and  pious  Register  of  the  Treasury, 
Joseph  Nourse,  the  honored  of  Washington,  the  cherished 
of  Madison,  of  Monroe,  and  of  Adams — down  with  him ! 
The  promise  must  be  fulfilled — the  "  reward"  must  be  be- 
stowed— u  to  the  victors  belong  the  spoils." 

It  was  foreseen  that  such  havoc  made  among  the  tried, 


196  MEMOIRS,   &c.,  <fcc. 

and  competent,  and  faithful  incumbents,  might  lead  the 
public  to  suspect  that  the  loss  of  all  this  "  experience" 
might  prove  hurtful  to  their  interests.  To  quiet  all  such 
apprehension,  it  was  announced,  by  high  authority,  and 
under  the  most  imposing  form,  that  "  experience  was  not 
a  necessary  qualification  for  office,"  etc.  And  then,  again, 
it  had  been  announced,  that  persons  were  to  be  selected, 
whose  " diligence  and  talents'"  were  to  " insure"  in  their 
respective  stations,  "  able  and  faithful"  co-operation,  whilst 
more  reliance  was  to  be  placed  on  the  "  integrity  and  zeal 
of  the  public  officers,  than  on  their  numbers" 

Now,  all  this,  I  cannot  bring  myself  to  doubt,  was  hon- 
estly meant  by  the  distinguished  functionary  who  gave  ut- 
terance to  these  doctrines  and  purposes ;  nor  can  I  ques- 
tion his  honesty  of  intention  to  fulfil  all  the  promises  that 
he  made — even  to  that  which  announced  that  mighty 
"  reform  in  those  abuses  that  had  (as  it  was  alleged)  brought 
the  patronage  of  the  federal  government  into  conflict  with  the 
freedom  of  elections"  Nor  were  the  causes  which,  it  was 
also  alleged,  had  "  disturbed  the  rightful  course  of  appoint- 
ment," and  "  which  had  placed,  or  continued  power,  in  un- 
faithful or  incompetent  hands,"  to  be  permitted  to  remain, 
but  were  to  be  " corrected"  This,  too,  was,  no  doubt, 
honestly  spoken  by  the  distinguished  personage  who  thus 
pledged  himself  before  the  American  people.  He  was 
fresh  in  his  place.  But  there  were  those  who  had  been 
hackneyed  in  artifice,  who,  knowing  the  avenues  of  ap- 
proach to  his  confidence,  took  care  to  prepare  the  way, 
not  only  for  the  foregoing  flowery  openings,  for  the  quiet- 
ing and  repose  of  public  opinion,  but  for  the  ultimate  re- 
sults of  Executive  favor  to  themselves,  with  all  their  en- 
riching results. 

Among  the  first  to  profit  by  this  state  of  things,  was 
General  Duff  Green,  whose  "reward"  was  conferred  in 
the  job-printing  of  the  government  in  his  paper,  and  in  his 
appointment  as  printer  to  Congress.  I  was  present  when 


MEMOIRS,  &c.,  &c.  197 

this  gentleman  first  came  to  Washington,  with  a  view  of. 
settling  there,  if  he  could.  I  was  dining  with  a  distinguished 
citizen,  who  was  called  from  the  dinner-table  to  see  "  a 
gentleman,"  who  had  declined  the  invitation  to  "  come  in." 
Soon  after,  I  joined  the  stranger  and  the  gentleman  with 
whom  I  had  dined,  and  was  introduced,  for  the  first  time, 
to  "  GENERAL  DUFF  GREEN."  The  general  had  brought  a 
letter  of  introduction,  I  believe,  from  Governor  Edwards ; 
and  this  was  deemed  a  sufficient  passport.  The  object  of 
General  Green  being  to  transfer  himself  from  St.  Louis  to 
Washington,  as  a  publisher  of  a  newspaper,  the  gentleman 
with  whom  I  had  dined  turned  the  general  over  to  me,  as 
his  adviser ;  and  by  invitation,  the  general  dined  with  me 
the  next  day,  en  famille,  when  his  entire  object  was  dis- 
closed. The  substance  was,  that  he  wished  to  leave  St. 
Louis,  and  come  to  Washington ;  but  having  no  means,  he 
desired,  if  he  could,  to  find  some  one  with  a  press  in 
Washington  or  Georgetown,  who  would  be  willing  to  ex- 
change with  him.  I  went  to  work,  with  sincerity,  to  pro- 
mote the  general's  views,  and  after  various  attempts,  he 
succeeded  in  making  a  bargain  of  some  sort — I  never  knew 
what  it  was — with  JONATHAN  ELLIOT,  who  had  printed  a 
paper  in  Washington,  the  quality  of  which  had  secured  for 
it  the  title  of  "  the  mud  press"  Upon  this  General  Green 
engrafted  his  Telegraph. 

I  can  never  forget  the  general's  costume  and  appearance 
when  I  first  saw  him.  They  were  both  indicative  of  great 
embarrassment.  His  eye,  which  was  black  and  animated, 
seemed  the  only  live  thing  about  him  ;  and  that  indicated, 
by  its  flashy  and  lustrous  motions,  a  good  deal  of  mind, 
which  General  Green  certainly  possesses.  From  the  state 
of  great  embarrassment  in  which  I  found  him,  General 
Green  became,  under  the  system  of  "  rewards"  a  man  of 
wealth ;  or,  at  least,  a  large  property-holder. 

How  far  this  "  reward "  system  was  calculated  to  alien- 
ate from  professional  duties,  and  from  the  various  depart- 


198  MEMOIRS,   &c.,  &c. 

.ments  of  labor,  so  many  thousands  of  citizens,  and  start 
them  as  competitors,  upon  the  political  race-course,  for 
Executive  patronage,  I  pretend  not  to  know.  One  thing, 
however,  is  certain.  Before  this  lure  was  held  up,  and  the 
proof  given  that  it  meant  what  it  promised,  viz  :  that  po- 
litical gladiators  should  be  rewarded,  there  was  no  such 
rush  after  office,  as  well  by  the  unqualified,  as  the  qualified, 
as  has  continued  to  distract  the  country  from  that  day  to 
this.  To  it,  also,  may  be  fairly  attributed  those  reckless 
assaults  upon  private  character,  and  the  employment  of 
the  most  degrading  and  demoralizing  means,  to  break  down 
an  opposing  candidate,  and,  indeed,  whatever  else  might 
happen  to  be  in  the  way  of  this  burning  thirst  after  the 
spoils  of  office,  and  the  ephemeral  glory  of  occupying  a 
place  in  the  government.  Nor  has  this  spirit  proved  less 
vindictive  in  the  candidate  for  the  office  of  tide-waiter,  or 
keeper  of  a  light-house,  than  in  others  whose  eyes  were 
fixed  upon  foreign  missions,  and  cabinet  offices.  The 
glory  of  contending  for  principles,  and  the  toils  of  the  pa- 
triot, to  secure  for  his  country  measures  of  a  useful  and  en- 
riching sort,  have  become,  to  the  eye  of  the  beholder,  so 
blended  with  the  selfish  ends  of  the  mere  demagogue,  as  to 
place  all  alike,  in  their  common  view,  upon  the  same  level, 
and  subject  all  to  the  degrading  suspicion  of  following  after 
political  candidates,  led  by  pretty  much  the  same  instincts 
that  took  so  many  of  old  into  the  wilderness,  viz :  that  they 
might  be  fed. 

It  is  only  when  the  strife  is  past,  that  the  patriot  can  be 
known  from  the  demagogue — the  whole-souled  lover  of 
his  country,  from  the  man  whose  only  motive,  in  all  of  his 
burning  zeal  for  his  favorite  candidate,  is  confined  to  the 
expectation  of  being  rewarded  with  a  part  of  a  loaf,  and 
a  few  little  fishes  !  If  there  were  no  other  consequences 
than  the  foregoing,  to  rebuke,  and  render  odious,  this 
system  of  "rewards,"  these  ought  to  be  sufficient.  But 
there  are  others — in  the  alienation  of  friend  from  friend, 


MEMOIRS,   &c.,  &c.  199 

and  of  family  from  family ;  and  in  the  annihilation  of  that 
whole  system  of  equal  rights  in  which  every  American  is 
entitled  to  participate,  by  virtue  of  the  constitution,  as  well 
as  his  birth,  and  from  which  he  can  never  be  deprived,  by 
anything  short  of  their  unjust  invasion  and  down-treading, 
by  the  foot  of  despotism.  Where  can  the  right  be  found, 
either  in  the  system  of  privileges  inherent  in  every  Ameri- 
can, or  in  justice,  or  the  constitution,  in  any  man,  who,  on 
proclaiming  himself  a  candidate  for  office,  or  being  so 
proclaimed  by  others,  whether  of  the  Presidency  or  any 
other,  shall  announce  that  "  rewards"  shall  be  conferred  on 
all  those  who  may  contribute  to  his  success ;  and  that 
"punishment"  shall  be  inflicted  on  all  who  shall  fail  to  join 
the  army  of  his  friends  ?  And  yet,  an  exile  is  known  to 
await  every  man,  so  far  as  he  can  be  reached,  who  may 
not  happen  to  have  fallen  in  with  the  views  of  the  domi- 
nant party ;  and  this  has  become  an  affair  of  such  common 
occurrence,  hideous  as  it  is,  as  to  have  lost,  to  the  general 
observation,  all  of  its  viciousness  !  This  strife  becomes 
the  dignity,  as  it  is  also  the  duty,  of  the  citizen,  and  crowns 
him  with  honor,  as  it  has  done,  and  will  continue  to  do, 
when  it  is  the  result  of  a  contest  for  principle,  and  for  mea- 
sures that  are  essential  to  the  "general  welfare"  It  only 
becomes  degrading  when  it  is  engaged  in  for  mere  party 
ends,  and  personal  advantages.  - 

I  well  remember  the  time,  when  a  head  of  a  department, 
having  been  deprived,  by  death,  of  a  valuable  chief  clerk, 
inquired  of  me  where  he  could  obtain  a  qualified  succes- 
sor— so  wholly  unknown  was  the  practice  then,  (and  this 
was  during  the  latter  part  of  Mr.  Madison's  administration, 
or  the  first  of  Mr.  Monroe's,)  for  a  thousand  applicants  to 
make  a  rush  at  the  same  time  for  the  place ;  or,  for  a  vigi- 
lant looker-on,  having  caught  from  the  doctor's  looks  an 
expression  of  doubt  whether  his  patient  would  recover,  to 
hie  away  to  Washington,  as  has  been  done,  present  the 
claims  of  "party,"  receive  a  commission,  and  be  back  to 


200  MEMOIRS,   &c.,  &c. 

Philadelphia  in  time  to  be  present  at  the  dead  man's  fune- 
ral !  It  was  my  fortune  to  know  a  gentleman  who  was 
qualified  for  the  place  to  which  I  have  referred.  I  named 
him ;  he  was  appointed,  and  was  all  that  the  head  of  the 
department  required  of  him ;  and  that  gentleman  is  the 
same  who  now  fills  with  such  distinguished  ability,  the 
office  of  Secretary  of  the  Senate  of  the  United  States. 
The  place  he  was  called  to  fill  at  the  time  to  which  I  have 
reference,  was  Chief  Clerk  of  the  office  of  Commissary  Ge- 
neral of  Prisoners,  whose  head  was  GENERAL  JOHN  MASON. 

But  General  Green,  whose  success  had  been  so  tri- 
umphant, was  doomed  himself  to  drink  of  the  same  bitter 
cup  that  he  had  so  often  mingled,  and  caused  to  be  drank, 
by  others.  A  cloud  fell  over  his  prospects,  even  before 
General  Jackson's  Presidency  was  closed.  This  change 
was  caused  by  the  suspicion  that  General  Green  favored 
another  personage  for  the  successor  of  General  Jackson, 
other  than  General  Jackson's  own  choice.  The  success 
of  Mr.  Van  Buren  was  the  signal  of  General  Green's  down- 
fall ;  for  in  walking  "  in  the  footsteps  of  his  illustrious  pre- 
decessor," Mr.  Van  Buren  took  especial  care  not  to  cross 
the  track  which  his  "  predecessor"  had,  doubtless,  marked 
out  for  the  guidance  of  his  steps  in  relation  to  General 
Green — who  went,  so  far  as  public  patronage  was  con- 
cerned, literally,  on  Mr.  Van  Buren's  accession  to  the 
Presidency,  into  exile,  where  he  remained  till  recalled  by 
his  ancient  friend  and  ally  in  the  cause  of  Jacksonism, 
Mr.  Tyler. 

That  General  Jackson  permitted  himself  to  be  surround- 
ed and  influenced  by  others,  regardless  of  the  means  they 
employed  to  carry  their  ends,  the  following  statement  of 
facts  will  show : — 

Some  time  after  General  Jackson  had  been  inaug- 
urated, the  Secretary  of  War,  Major  Eaton,  inquired  of 
me,  if  I  had  been  to  see  the  President  ?  I  said  I  had  not. 
Had  you  not  better  go  over  ?  Why,  sir  ?  I  asked — I 


MEMOIRS,   &c.,  &c.  201 

have  had  no  official  business  to  call  me  there,  nor  have  I 
any  now  ;  why  should  I  go  ?  You  know,  in  these  times, 
replied  the  secretary,  it  is  well  to  cultivate  those  personal 
relations,  which  will  go  far  towards  securing  the  good- 
will of  one  in  power — and  he  wound  up  by  more  than  inti- 
mating that  the  President  had  heard  some  things  in  dis- 
paragement of  me,  when  I  determined,  forthwith,  to  go  and 
see  him,  and  ascertain  what  they  were.  On  arriving  at 
the  door  of  the  President's  house,  I  was  answered  by  the 
door-keeper,  that  the  President  was  in,  and  having  gone  to 
report  me,  returned,  saying  the  President  would  see  me. 
On  arriving  at  the  door,  it  having  been  thrown  open  by 
the  door-keeper,  I  saw  the  President  very  busily  engaged 
writing,  and  with  great  earnestness;  so  much  so,  indeed, 
that  I  stood  for  some  time,  before  he  took  his  eyes  off  the 
paper,  fearing  to  interrupt  him,  and  not  wishing  to  seem 
intrusive.  Presently,  he  raised  his  eyes  from  the  paper, 
and  at  the  same  time  his  spectacles  from  his  nose,  and 
looking  at  me,  said — "  Come  in,  sir,  come  in."  You  are 
engaged,  sir  ?  "  No  more  so  than  I  always  am,  and 
always  expect  to  be" — drawing  a  long  breath,  and  giving 
signs  of  great  uneasiness. 

I  had  just  said,  I  am  here,  sir,  at  the  instance  of  the 
Secretary  of  War,  when  the  door  was  thrown  open,  and 
three  members  of  Congress  entered.  They  were  received 
with  great  courtesy.  I  rose,  saying,  you  are  engaged,  sir, 
I  will  call  when  you  are  more  at  leisure ;  and  bowed  my- 
self out.  On  returning  to  my  office,  I  addressed  a  note  to 
the  President,  of  the  following  import : — "  Colonel  McKen- 
ney's  respects  to  the  President  of  the  United  States,  and 
requests  to  be  informed  when  it  will  suit  his  convenience 
to  see  him  ?"  To  which  Major  Donaldson  replied,  "  The 
President  will  see  Colonel  McKenney  to-day,  at  twelve 
o'clock."  I  was  punctual,  and  found  the  President  alone. 
I  commenced,  by  repeating  what  I  had  said  at  my  first 
visit,  that  I  was  there  at  the  instance  of  the  Secretary  of 

VOL.  I.  26 


202  MEMOIRS,  &c.,  &c. 

War,  who  had  more  than  intimated  to  me,  that  impres- 
sions of  an  unfavorable  sort  had  been  made  upon  him,  in 
regard  to  me ;  and  that  I  was  desirous  of  knowing  what 
the  circumstances  were,  that  had  produced  them.  "  It  is 
true,  sir,"  said  the  President,  "  I  have  been  told  things 
that  are  highly  discreditable  to  you,  and  which  have  come 
to  me  from  such  sources,  as  to  satisfy  me  of  their  truth." 
Very  well,  sir,  will  you  do  me  the  justice  to  let  me  know 
what  these  things  are,  that  you  have  heard  from  such  re- 
spectable sources?  "You  know,  Colonel  McKenney,  I 
am  a  candid  man — "  I  beg  pardon,  sir,  I  remarked,  inter- 
rupting him,  but  I  am  not  here  to  question  that,  but  to 
hear  charges  which  it  appears  have  been  made  to  you, 
affecting  my  character,  either  as  an  officer  of  the  govern- 
ment, or  a  man.  "  Well,  sir,"  he  resumed,  "  I  will  frankly 
tell  you  what  these  charges  are,  and,  sir,  they  are  of  a 
character  which  I  can  never  respect."  No  doubt  of  that, 
sir,  but  what  are  they  ?  "  Why,  sir,  I  am  told,  and  on  the 
best  authority,  that  you  were  one  of  the  principal  promo- 
ters of  that  vile  paper,  "  We  the  People  ;"  as  a  contribu- 
tor towards  establishing  it,  and  as  a  writer,  afterwards, 
in  which  my  wife  Rachel  was  so  shamefully  abused.  I 
am  told,  further,  on  authority  no  less  respectable,  that  you 
took  an  active  part  in  distributing,  under  the  frank  of  your 
office,  the  "  coffin  hand-bills  ;"  and  that  in  your  recent  tra- 
vels, you  largely  and  widely  circulated  the  militia  pamph- 
let." Here  he  paused,  crossed  his  legs,  shook  his  foot, 
and  clasped  his  hands  around  the  upper  knee,  and  looked 
at  me  as  though  he  had  actually  convicted,  and  prostrated 
me ;  when,  after  a  moment's  pause,  I  asked — Well,  sir,  what 
else  ?  "  Why,  sir,"  he  answered,  "  I  think  such  conduct 
highly  unbecoming  in  one  who  fills  a  place  in  the  govern- 
ment such  as  you  fill,  and  very  derogatory  to  you,  as  it 
would  be  in  any  one  who  should  be  guilty  of  such  prac- 
tices." All  this,  I  replied,  may  be  well  enough,  but  I  request 
to  know  if  this  is  all  you  have  heard,  and  whether  there 


MEMOIRS,  &c.,  &c.  203 

are  any  more  charges  ?  "  Why,  yes,  sir,  there  is  one 
more ;  I  am  told  your  office  is  not  in  the  condition  in 
which  it  should  be."  Well,  sir,  what  more  ?  "  Nothing, 
sir;  but  these  are  all  serious  charges,  sir."  Then,  sir, 
these  comprise  all  ?  "  They  do,  sir."  Well,  General,  I 
answered,  I  am  not  going  to  reply  to  all  this,  or  to  any 
part  of  it,  with  any  view  of  retaining  my  office,  nor  do  I 
mean  to  reply  at  all,  except  under  the  solemnity  of  an  oath — 
when  I  threw  up  my  hand  towards  heaven,  saying,  the 
answers  I  am  about  to  give  to  these  allegations,  I  solemnly 
swear,  shall  be  the  truth,  the  whole  truth,  and  nothing  but  the 

truth.     My  oath,  sir,  is  taken,  and  is  no  doubt  recorded 

He  interrupted  me,  by  saying,  "  You  are  making  quite  a 
serious  affair  of  it."  It  is,  sir,  what  I  mean  to  do,  I 
answered. 

Now,  sir,  in  regard  to  the  paper  called  "  We  the  People," 
I  never  did,  directly  or  indirectly,  either  by  my  money,  or 
by  my  pen,  contribute  towards  its  establishment,  or  its 
continuance.  I  never  circulated  one  copy  of  it,  more  or 
less,  nor  did  I  subscribe  for  a  copy  of  it,  more  or  less ;  nor 
have  I  ever,  to  the  best  of  my  knowledge  and  belief,  han- 
dled a  copy  of  it,  nor  have  I  ever  seen  but  two  copies,  and 
these  were  on  the  table  of  a  friend,  amongst  other  news- 
papers. So  much  for  that  charge.  In  regard  to  the  "  coffin 
hand-bills,"  I  never  circulated  any,  either  under  the  frank 
of  my  office,  or  otherwise,  and  never  saw  but  two ;  and 
am  not  certain  that  I  ever  saw  but  one,  and  that,  some  fool 
sent  me,  under  cover,  from  Richmond,  in  Virginia,  and 
which  I  found  on  my  desk  among  other  papers,  on  going 
to  my  office ;  and  which,  on  seeing  what  it  was,  I  tore  up, 
and  threw  aside  among  the  waste  paper,  to  be  swept  out 
by  my  messenger.  The  other,  which  I  took  to  be  one  of 
these  bills,  but  which  might  have  been  an  account  of  the 
hanging  of  some  convict,  I  saw  some  time  ago,  pendent 
from  a  man's  finger  and  thumb,  he  having  a  roll  under  his 
arm,  as  he  crossed  Broadway,  in  New  York.  So  much 


204  MEMOIRS,  &c.,  &c. 

for  the  coffin  hand-bills.  As  to  the  "  militia  pamphlet," 
I  have  seen  reference  made  to  it  in  the  newspapers,  it  is 
true,  but  I  have  never  handled  it — have  never  read  it,  or 
circulated  a  copy  or  copies  of  it,  directly  or  indirectly. 
And  now,  sir,  as  to  my  office.  That  is  my  monument ; 
its  records  are  its  inscriptions.  Let  it  be  examined,  and 
I  invite  a  commission  for  that  purpose ;  nor  will  I  return 
to  it  to  put  a  paper  in  its  place,  should  it  be  out  of  place, 
or  in  any  other  way  prepare  it  for  the  ordeal ;  and,  if  there 
is  a  single  flaw  in  it,  or  any  just  grounds  for  complaint, 
either  on  the  part  of  the  white  or  the  red  man,  implicating 
my  capacity — my  diligence,  or  want  of  due  regard  to 
the  interests  of  all  having  business  with  it,  including  the  go- 
vernment, then,  sir,  you  shall  have  my  free  consent  to  put  any 
mark  upon  me  you  may  think  proper,  or  subject  me  to  as 
much  opprobrium  as  shall  gratify  those  who  have  thus  abu- 
sed your  confidence  by  their  secret  attempts  to  injure  me. 

"  Colonel  McKenney,"  said  the  general,  who  had  kept 
his  eyes  upon  me  during  the  whole  of  my  reply,  "I  believe 
every  word  you  have  said,  and  am  satisfied  that  those  who 
communicated  to  me  those  allegations,  were  mistaken." 
I  thank  you,  sir,  I  replied,  for  your  confidence,  but  I  am 
not  satisfied.  I  request  to  have  my  accusers  brought  up, 
and  that  I  may  be  allowed  to  confront  them  in  your  pre- 
sence. "  No — no,  sir,"  he  answered,  "  I  am  satisfied ;  why 
then  push  the  matter  farther  ?"  when,  rising  from  his  chair, 
he  took  my  arm,  and  said,  "  Come,  sir,  come  down,  and 
allow  me  to  introduce  you  to  my  family."  I  accompanied 
him,  and  was  introduced  to  Mrs.  Donaldson,  Major  Donald- 
son, and  some  others  who  were  present,  partook  of  the  of- 
fering of  a  glass  of  wine,  and  retired. 

The  next  morning,  I  believe  it  was — or  if  not  the  next, 
some  morning  not  far  off— a  Mr.  R-b-s-n,  a  very  worthy, 
gentlemanly  fellow,  and  well  known  to  me,  came  into  my 
office.  "  You  are  busy,  Colonel  ?"  he  said,  as  he  entered. 
No,  sir,  not  very,  I  replied ;  come  in — I  have  learned  to 


MEMOIRS,   &c.,  &c.  205 

write  and  talk  too,  at  the  same  time.  Come  in ;  sit  down ; 
I  am  glad  to  see  you.  Looking  round  the  office,  the  en- 
tire walls  of  which  I  had  covered  with  portraits  of  Indians, 
he  asked,  pointing  to  the  one  that  hung  over  my  desk, 
"Who  is  that?"  Red-Jacket,!  answered.  "And  that?" 
Shin-guab-O'Wassin,  I  replied;  and  so  he  continued,  till, 
pausing  a  moment,  he  asked,  "  And  which  is  the  Kickapoo 
Ambassador?"  Oh,  sir,  I  answered,  rising,  he  has  the  honor 
of  standing  before  you,  in  proprice  persona.  "  Come,  come, 
Mac,"  said  he,  a  little  put  out,  "  and  have  you  really  no 
Indian  here,  called  the  Kickapoo  Ambassador  ?"  None,  I 
assure  you,  except  myself;  and  that  is  the  title  by  which  I 
have  been  honored,  and  which,  believe  me,  I  cherish  with 
becoming  pride,  and  a  corresponding  pleasure.  "  Excuse 
me,  Colonel ;  I  really  was  honest  in  supposing  that  a  chief 
was  among  your  collection  of  paintings,  so  called."  He 
then  asked, "  Who  wrote  the  treaties  with  the  Indians,  and 
gave  instructions  to  commissions,  and,  in  general,  carried 
on  the  correspondence  of  the  office  ?"  These  are  within 
the  circle  of  my  duties,  the  whole  being  under  a  general 
supervision  of  the  Secretary  of  War,  I  answered.  "  Well, 
then,"  after  a  pause,  he  said,  "  the  office  will  not  suit  me." 
What  office  ?  I  asked.  "  This,"  he  replied ;  "  General 
Jackson  told  me,  this  morning,  it  was  at  my  service ;  but 
before  seeing  the  Secretary  of  War,  I  thought  I  would 
come  and  have  a  little  chat  with  you,  first." 

I  rose  from  my  chair,  saying — Take  it,  my  dear  sir, 
take  it.  The  sword  of  Damocles  has  been  hanging  over 
my  head  long  enough.  "No,"  said  he,  "it  is  not  the 
sort  of  place  for  me.  I  prefer  an  auditor's  office,  where 
forms  are  established."  This  worthy  citizen  had,  in  the 
fulness  of  his  heart,  doubtless,  and  out  of  pure  affection 
for  General  Jackson,  made  that  distinguished  personage  a 
present  of  the  pair  of  pistols  which  General  Washington 
had  carried  during  the  war  of  the  Revolution.  The  gen- 
eral could  not  fail,  of  course,  to  feel  grateful  for  so  distin- 


206  MEMOIRS,  &c.,  &c. 

guished  a  gift ;  and,  as  times  had  become  now,  it  was  not 
unreasonable  to  expect  that  a  suitable  "  reward,"  or  token 
of  the  general's  high  estimate  of  the  present,  would  be 
given.  It  so  happened,  however,  that  Mr.  R.>  and  a  per- 
sonal friend  of  General  Jackson,  had  a  fight  somewhere 
down  the  Pennsylvania  Avenue,  the  latter  being,  as  it  was 
reported,  much  worsted.  I  never  learned  that  the  offer  of 
any  other  office,  than  the  one  I  held,  was  afterwards  made, 
by  President  Jackson,  to  Mr.  R. 

The  office  of  Indian  Affairs  had,  in  like  manner,  been 
proffered  to  others ;  and  the  only  reason  why  I  had  not 
been,  at  a  very  early  period  after  General  Jackson's  suc- 
cession to  the  Presidency,  summarily  disposed  of,  was,  that 
the  Secretary  of  War,  Major  Eaton,  opposed  it.  He  very 
frankly  told  the  President  that  the  duties  of  the  Indian  De- 
partment were  heavy  and  complex,  and  that  great  experi- 
ence was  necessary  to  their  proper  discharge ;  and  that  I 
was  familiar  with  those  duties,  and  that  the  business  of  the 
department  was  well  attended  to,  &c.  On  other  occa- 
sions, when  new  applicants  were  favored  with  the  Presi- 
dent's approbation,  Major  Eaton  would  speak  of  the  in- 
creased labors  that  my  removal  would  impose  upon  him; 
and  sometimes,  of  the  danger  that  was  justly  to  be  appre- 
hended, should  the  office  fall  into  incompetent  or  inexpe- 
rienced hands,  of  dissatisfactions  being  caused  among  the 
Indians,  and  a  consequent  border  war.  General  Green 
having  ascertained,  I  suppose,  that  Major  Eaton  had  been 
the  barrier,  hitherto,  to  his  exertions  for  my  ejection  from 
office,  came  in  person  to  him  ;  and,  in  terms  rather  more 
bold  than  was  consistent  with  the  relations  of  the  two  par- 
ties, insisted  on  my  removal ;  and  was  very  significantly 
referred,  by  Major  Eaton,  to  "  his  own  business" 

But  it  had  been  my  lot  to  incur  the  displeasure  of  an- 
other of  General  Jackson's  personal  friends.  I  refer  to 
the  then  General  Houston,  since  President  of  Texas.  Pro- 
posals had  been  issued  by  the  department,  of  the  18th  Feb- 


MEMOIRS,  &c.,  &c.  207 

ruary,  1830,  for  rations  for  the  support  of  emigrating  In- 
dians ;  the  seals  to  be  opened  by  the  War  Department  on 
a  specified  day.  Some  few  days  previous  to  the  date  of 
the  proposals,  General  Houston  came  into  my  office,  and 
commenced  a  conversation  by  referring  to  the  intention  of 
the  Executive  to  supply  rations  to  the  emigrant  Indians  by 
contract ;  when,  drawing  his  chair  near  my  desk,  he  said, 
"  It  is  my  intention  to  make  an  attempt  to  engage  in  this 
business.  I  wish  you  to  aid  me.  You  can  do  much  in  ac- 
complishing my  intentions.  Everybody  knows  your  ac- 
quaintance with  this  business,  and  you  can  have  the  matter 
attended  to,  pretty  much  as  you  please.  If  I  succeed,  as 
I  am  pretty  sure  I  can,  by  your  aid,  you  shall  lose  nothing 
by  it." 

I  replied — General  Houston,  I  regret  your  mode  of  ap- 
proaching this  subject,  and  the  terms  you  have  employed 
in  presenting  it.  Waiving  further  remark  in  regard  to 
these,  I  have  to  say  that  I  have  no  power  whatever  over 
the  subject.  My  place  is  subordinate ;  I  can  do  no  more 
than  execute  such  orders  as  the  Secretary  of  War  may 
direct. 

He  said,  in  general  terms,  that  he  had  no  particular  ob- 
ject in  the  remarks  to  which  I  had  taken  exception ;  that 
he  nevertheless  held  the  opinion,  if  I  chose,  I  could  be  es- 
sentially useful  to  him ;  when  he  asked  me  to  come  and 
see  him  at  his  lodgings.  He  came  again  the  next  day,  and 
asked  if  I  had  seen  the  Secretary  of  War.  I  answered — 
I  had.  "  Has  he  said  anything  to  you  about  issuing  pro- 
posals for  supplying  rations  to  the  emigrating  Indians  ?" 
I  replied — He  has  not.  He  appeared  much  surprised, 
adding,  "  It  is  d — d  queer." 

The  next  day  he  called  again,  when,  in  reply  to  similar 
questions,  about  my  seeing  the  Secretary  of  War,  and 
whether  anything  had  passed  between  us  touching  the 
publication  of  proposals,  &c.,  and  receiving  similar  answers 
to  those  given  the  day  before,  he  said  he  was  satisfied  the 


208  MEMOIRS,  &c.,  &c. 

Secretary  of  War  had  forgotten  it,  for  that  he  had  prom- 
ised to  see  me,  and  give  orders,  &c.,  &c. — promising  him 
that  they  should  appear  that  morning  in  the  Telegraph.  I 
repeated  that  the  secretary  had  said  nothing  to  me  on  the 
subject.  He  asked  if  I  would  not  see  the  secretary  on 
the  subject.  I  replied  by.  referring  to  my  subordinate  po- 
sition, and  that  I  could  not,  with  propriety,  move  upon  the 
Secretary  of  War,  but  must  wait  his  movements  upon  me. 
He  said  this  was  exceedingly  embarrassing  to  him,  as  he 
wished  to  get  off,  and  this  was  delaying  him  beyond  his 
convenience ;  that  "  it  was  the  more  vexatious,  as  he  had 
prepared  proposals,  given  them  to  the  Secretary  of  War, 
and  received  his  assurance  that  he  would  hand  them  over 
to  you.  There  was  no  reason,  that  he  could  see,  for  this 
delay."  He  continued  to  call,  sometimes  as  often  as  two 
or  three  times  a  day ;  and  at  last  insisted,  with  vehemence, 
that  I  must  see  the  Secretary  of  War.  I  declined ;  when, 
looking  at  me,  evidently  much  excited,  he  said,  "  McKen- 
ney>  y°u  have  sustained  Major  Duval  (the  then  Indian 
agent  for  the  Cherokees  in  Arkansas,  than  whom  the  gov- 
ernment never  had  a  more  capable,  zealous,  or  faithful  of- 
ficer,) too  long.  You  have  issued  to  the  delegation  (mean- 
ing the  Cherokee  delegation)  that  was  here  before  the  last, 
without  proper  or  justifiable  reason,  fifteen  hundred  dol- 
lars ;"  and,  shaking  his  finger  at  me,  added, "  /  know  certain 
things,  of  which  I  have  said  nothing" 

I  answered — My  support  of  Major  Duval  is  matter  of 
record.  That  he  (Houston)  ought  to  know  that'  I  had 
the  same  power,  without  the  knowledge  and  "  approval" 
of  the  Secretary  of  War,  to  issue  fifteen  hundred  dollars, 
or  any  other  sum,  to  the  Cherokees,  or  to  any  other  per- 
son, that  my  door-keeper  had,  and  no  more.  That,  as  to 
his  insinuations  of  knowing  certain  things,  of  which,  how- 
ever, he  had  said  nothing,  he  was  at  liberty,  and  I  urged 
him  to  move  upon  me  in  any  manner,  and  under  any  forms, 
that  he  might  see  fit  to  adopt — when  he  left  the  office. 


MEMOIRS,  &c.,  &c.  209 

On  reflection,  I  considered  it  due  to  myself,  to  address 
to  him  a  temperate,  but  firm  letter,  which  I  did.  In  this, 
I  relieved  him  from  any  sense  of  delicacy,  which  he  ap- 
peared to  entertain  towards  me,  and  urged  upon  him  to 
move  upon  me,  touching  any  matters  which  he  might  sup- 
pose to  involve  my  title  to  the  respect  and  confidence  of 
the  Executive,  or  the  world. 

One  of  the  points  that  Houston  had  urged  upon  me,  as 
being  important  to  himself,  was  that  of  limiting  the  time 
for  the  offer  of  the  bids,  for  the  contracts  for  rations,  to 
thirty  days,  and  which  I  very  pointedly  met,  by  saying 
that,  as  these  supplies,  in  my  opinion,  would  come  from  Ar- 
kansas and  Missouri,  there  would  be  no  time  for  the  peo- 
ple of  that  quarter  to  respond  to  the  call.  To  this,  he 
urged  his  inability,  owing  to  his  poverty,  to  remain  longer 
in  Washington,  and  he  wished,  at  the  earliest  possible  pe- 
riod, to  return  home.  To  all  which,  I  replied — It  is  an 
affair  over  which  I  have  no  control. 

I  received  no  written  answer  from  General  Houston,  to 
my  letter  to  him,  but  being  in  my  office,  some  two  or  three 
days  after,  he  said  in  pleasant  words — "  You  know,  McKen- 
ney,  that  what  I  said  on  the  occasion  to  which  your  letter 
refers,  is  not  worth  entering  into,  as  a  subject  of  dispute 
between  us ;  therefore,  let  it  drop,  and  come  down  and  see 
me.  I  shall  be  happy  to  see  you  at  my  room.  I  am  hav- 
ing my  likeness  taken  in  Indian  costume,  and  I  want  you 
to  tell  me  how  you  like  it."  Of  course,  I  never  went.  I 
understood,  or  thought  I  did,  both  moves ;  the  first,  I  in- 
terpreted to  be  an  appeal  to  my  hopes,  in  the  implied  pro- 
mise of  being  benefited  in  return  for  my  co-operation,  in 
obtaining  the  contract  for  Houston  ;  the  last,  to  my  fears 
that  these,  as  the  first  had  failed,  might  urge  me  into  a 
compliance.  Neither  prevailing,  the  good  humor  of  the 
general  was  resumed  ;  and  a  closer  intimacy  sought  by  the 
invitation  to  visit  him  at  his  room,  and  see  his  likeness,  &c. 

At  about  three  o'clock  on  the  day  of  the  date  of  the 

VOL.  I.  27 


210  MEMOIRS,   &c.,  &c. 

proposals,  being  in  the  secretary's  room,  and  about  re- 
turning from  it,  the  secretary  asked  me,  if  I  had  seen 
Houston  ?  I  told  him  I  had,  and  added — My  interviews 
with  him  have  not  been  of  the  most  agreeable  sort.  He 
made  no  reply,  but  taking  from  his  pocket  a  paper,  he 
said — "  I  have  forgotten,  for  some  days,  to  hand  you  this 
paper.  It  is  a  paper  containing  proposals  for  rations  for 
Indians,  written  by  Houston,  and  handed  to  me  by  him ; 
take  it,  and  examine  it,  and  if  correct,  have  it  copied,  and 
sign  it,  and  let  it  appear  in  the  Telegraph  to-morrow 
morning."  I  opened  the  paper,  and  saw  at  a  glance  that 
it  was  not  a  proper  notice.  Seeing  me  open  the  paper,  the 
secretary  said,  "  It  is  late  now,  take  it  home,  and  examine 
it."  I  said  it  was  incorrect  and  imperfect,  and  a  few  words 
would  explain  in  what.  I  then  pointed  to  the  imperfec- 
tions ;  when  the  secretary  said,  "  Well,  take  the  paper 
home  with  you,  and  prepare  a  form,  and  bring  it  in  in  the 
morning."  I  did  so. 

I  left  a  blank  for  the  time  within  which  bids  would  be 
received ;  stating  that,  as  thirty  days  had  been  named,  I 
wished  to  call  his  attention  to  it,  it  being  too  short  a  time 
for  bids  to  reach  the  department  from  Arkansas,  whence 
the  supplies  could  be  had  at  less  price,  than  if  obtained  on 
this  side  the  Mississippi.  The  secretary  thought  differ- 
ently, and  directed  the  blank  to  be  filled  with  "  thirty  days" 
saying,  "  Houston  is  waiting,"  and  "  he  believed  few  men 
were  so  well  qualified  for  the  discharge  of  such  a  trust." 
Besides  the  "  thirty  days"  limitation,  which,  as  it  appeared 
to  me,  excluded  a  fair  competition,  there  not  being  time 
enough  for  the  citizens  of  Arkansas  and  Missouri  to  res- 
pond to  the  call,  the  secretary  added  an  almost  insupera- 
ble barrier  to  any  reliance  on  the  permanency  of  the  con- 
tracts, in  these  words :  "  The  right  to  be  reserved  to  the 
Secretary  of  War  to  enlarge,  or  alter  the  quantity  of  ra- 
tions to  be  issued,  and  the  right  of  continuing  the  contract 
to  any  period  of  time  he  may  think  proper,  and  to  deter- 


MEMOIRS,  &c.,  &c.  211 

mine  it  at  pleasure,  when  any  of  the  conditions  shall  be 
broken.  The  points  of  delivery,  not  to  exceed  three  in 
the  country  of  either  of  the  tribes,  to  be  designated  by  the 
Secretary  of  War." 

Besides  the  power  reserved  for  the  Secretary  of  War, 
to  enlarge  the  quantity,  or  alter  it,  and  to  fix  periods  for 
concluding  the  contract ;  and  the  right,  also,  without  any 
appeal,  to  decide  when  the  conditions  were  complied  with,  or 
broken,  there  was  no  data  in  the  advertisement,  upon  which 
the  price  of  the  ration  could,  with  any  certainty,  be  fixed 
upon,  seeing  "  the  points  of  Delivery"  were  not  named.  All 
that  was  made  known  publicly  was,  that  the  rations  were 
for  "  such  Indians  as  might  emigrate  to  their  lands  west 
of  Arkansas  and  Missouri."  There  could,  therefore,  be  no 
certain  estimate  made  of  the  cost  of  the  "  transportation," 
because  there  were  no  depots  named  at  which  the  rations 
were  to  be  delivered.  They  might  be  a  hundred  miles  in 
one  direction,  or  a  hundred  miles  in  another.  And  yet 
there  were  some  dozen  bids  sent  in,  I  believe  ;  the  whole 
of  which,  however,  were  by  persons  then  in  Washington, 
except  one  from  Louisville,  Kentucky.  Not  one  of  these, 
however,  so  far  as  they  were  made  public,  was  in  the  name 
of  Houston,  or  in  the  name  of  any  one  for  him. 

The  "  thirty  days"  having  expired,  which  set  limits  to 
the  time  of  receiving  bids  for  contracts,  I  was  called  upon 
by  several  persons,  at  my  office,  who  inquired  what  de- 
cision had  been  come  to  on  the  bids  ?  To  all  which,  I 
gave  the  answer — I  do  not  know  ;  when  a  good  deal  of 
surprise  was  expressed ;  the  applicants  supposing  that,  as 
the  proposals  had  emanated  from  my  office,  and  bore  my 
signature,  I  must,  of  course,  be  in  possession  of  the  deci- 
sion of  the  department,  and  knew  to  whom  it  had  been  de- 
cided to  give  the  contract.  I  referred  the  parties  to  the 
Secretary  of  War. 

I  was  soon  after  in  the  secretary's  office,  and  men- 
tioned to  him  that  such  inquiries  had  been  made  of  me. 


212  MEMOIRS,  dec.,  &c. 

when  he  replied,  "  I  have  received  no  offers,  except  Hous- 
ton's, in  the  name  of  Ben  Hawkins.*  I  expressed  sur- 
prise, and  said — This  is  throwing  responsibilities  too  heavily 
upon  me.  I  was  here  interrupted  by  the  secretary,  who 
said — "  If  men  will  not  be  prompt,  and  hand  in  their  pro- 
posals in  time,  they  have  no  one  to  blame  but  themselves ;" 
when  I  continued  my  remarks,  by  saying,  I  had  received 
several  packages  in  my  office,  having  written  on  them, 
"  Proposals  for  rations,"  which  I  had,  with  my  own  hand, 
on  the  afternoon  of  the  day  previous  to  the  time  fixed  for 
opening  them,  placed  in  the.  hands  of  his  chief  clerk, 
Dr.  Randolph,  saying — These  are  proposals  or  bids,  for 
supplying  rations  to  Indians,  the  time  expiring  to-morrow ; 
you  will,  therefore,  be  careful  to  place  them  before  the 
Secretary  of  War,  in  time  for  his  action  upon  them.  If 
these  proposals,  I  added,  have  not  been  placed  before  you, 
it  is  not  owing  to  any  fault  of  mine. 

I  had  no  knowledge,  from  any  source,  of  what  was  go- 
ing on,  touching  this  ration  business,  from  the  time  the 
proposals  were  issued,  to  the  interview,  as  above  referred 
to,  with  the  Secretary  of  War.  There  had  been  great  de- 
rangement in  every  branch  of  our  Indian  relations,  caused  by 
the  intermeddling  of  the  Second  Comptroller,  and  which 
greatly  embarrassed  the  right  action  of  that  important 
branch  of  the  public  service.  When  the  Indian  Bureau 
was  organized,  it  was  made  the  repository  of  all  transac- 
tions relating  to  this  branch  of  the  public  service ;  and  all 
transactions,  and  of  every  sort,  whether  between  the  gov- 
ernment and  the  Indians,  or  the  Indians  and  our  citizens, 
passed  through  it.  It  so  continued,  until  a  short  time  be- 
fore Mr.  Barbour's  administration  of  the  War  Depart- 
ment had  ceased ;  when,  without  his  knowledge,  or  my 
own,  the  Second  Comptroller  issued  a  circular,  directing 
the  superintendents  and  agents  to  make  their  returns  di- 
rect to  either  the  Second  Comptroller,  or  Second  Auditor. 

*  Ben  Hawkins  was  a  half-breed  Indian. 


MEMOIRS,  &c.,  &c.  213 

The  effect  of  this  order  was,  to  divert  from  the  Indian 
Bureau,  and  from  the  knowledge  of  the  officer  having 
charge  of  it,  that  very  business,  which,  by  his  commission, 
he  was  required  to  act  upon ;  taking  from  the  Indian  Bu- 
reau, at  once,  both  its  action,  and  its  responsibility.  The 
records  of  the  office  will  show  the  efforts  that  were  made 
by  me  to  restore  to  the  Bureau  its  proper  action,  and  re- 
establish the  responsibility  of  the  officer  having  charge  of 
it.  The  evil,  however,  was  never  cured,  but  grew  worse 
and  worse,  until  I  left  it. 

Over  this  ration  business,  however,  I  had  no  control.  It 
belonged,  legitimately,  to  the  Secretary  of  War  to  judge 
of  the  bids,  and  to  decide  upon  them.  But  this  action,  on 
his  part,  over  the  entire  duties  of  carrying  out  his  deci- 
sions, devolved,  not  of  right,  perhaps,  but  in  some  sense 
of  necessity,  upon  the  Indian  Bureau — it  being  impossible 
for  the  Secretary  of  War  to  attend  to  the  details  of  the 
business.  My  action  upon  this  ration  business  had  ceased, 
when  I  put  in  the  hands  of  his  chief  clerk  such  proposals 
as  had  been  committed,  by  those  who  made  them,  to  my 
charge ;  but  it  should  have  revived  immediately  after  "  thir- 
ty days"  for  receiving  bids,  and  a  deciding  upon  them,  had 
expired.  I  very  soon  discovered,  however,  that  difficul- 
ties of  some  sort  had  arisen  to  embarrass  this  business. 
The  first  light  thrown  upon  this  darkness,  was  by  Luther 
Blake,  of  Alabama,  who,  coming  into  my  office  a  few  days 
after  the  expiration  of  the  "  thirty  days,"  in  a  state  of  ex- 
citement, said  he  had  just  parted  from  Houston,  who  had 
told  him  that  he  (Houston)  had  seen  all  the  bids,  and  that 
his  (Blake's)  was  the  lowest ;  that  if  Blake  would  withdraw 
his  bid,  he  (Houston)  could  secure  the  contract,  and  that 
Blake  should  make  more  out  of  this  step,  than  he  could 
realize  if  he  should  get  the  contract.  Blake's  anger  had 
been  kindled,  as  he  told  me,  at  the  permission  which  had 
been  given  to  Houston  "  to  see  behind  the  curtain,"  and  at 


214  MEMOIRS,  &c.,  &c. 

his  attempt,  by  a  collusion  of  the  sort,  "  to  defraud,  (as  he 
phrased  it,)  the  government." 

The  expenditure  contemplated  under  these  contracts  for 
rations  for  emigrating  Indians,  was  enormous.  In  view  of 
it,  I  had  given  the  subject  my  closest  attention,  and  the 
result  was,  that  a  ration  (under  a  system  of  contracts  which 
I  had  recommended,  as  preferable  to  the  previous  system 
of  referring  the  procuring  of  the  supplies  to  the  agents,) 
need  not  have  cost  over  six  cents  and  two-thirds.  I  de- 
rived this  estimate  from  a  thorough  examination  and  ave- 
rage of  previous  expenditures,  chiefly  from  accounts  of 
agents  on  expenditures  actually  made,  and  returned  to  the 
office  of  the  Second  Auditor.  On  the  6th  April,  1830,  I 
made  a  report  to  the  Secretary  of  War,  from  which  what 
follows  is  an  extract.  I  give  it,  to  show  that  there  was  no 
lack  of  information  in  the  proper  Bureau,  touching  the  cost 
of  rations,  if  it  had  been  thought  proper  to  call  for  it. 
This  information  was  elicited  by  a  resolution  of  Congress, 
if  my  memory  serves  me,  calling  on  the  Secretary  of  War 
for  the  information  contained  in  the  extract — such  calls 
being  uniformly  sent  to  the  Indian  Bureau,  to  be  respond- 
ed to. 

EXTRACT. 

"  DEPARTMENT  OF  WAR,  ) 
"  Office  Indian  Affairs,  April  6,  1830.      > 
"  To  MAJOR  EATON,  Secretary  of  War : 

"  The  average  expense,  per  head,  of  removing  the 
Creek  Indians,  who  have  emigrated,  has  been  thirty-three 
dollars  ;  but  it  is  believed,  under  the  system  of  contracts 
which  I  had  the  honor  to  recommend  in  my  annual  re- 
port of  the  7th  of  November  last,  the  cost  may  be  consid- 
erably reduced.  The  cost  of  supporting  the  Indians  for  a 
year  after  their  arrival,  has  been,  in  application  to  the 
Creeks,  at  the  rate  of  six  cents  per  day,  each. 

"  The  incidental  expense  which  has  attended  the  removal 
of  the  Creeks,  is  embraced  in  the  foregoing ;  from  which 


MEMOIRS,  &c.,  &c.  215 

it  appears  the  entire  cost  of  removing  each  Creek,  and 
supporting  him,  has  been  fifteen  cents  per  day,  or  fifty-four 
dollars  per  year.  But  subsequent  experience  in  taking 
over  the  last  party,  has  shown  that,  under  the  present  sys- 
tem, it  need  not  amount  to  more  than  about  half  the  cost 
of  the  first  movement ;  and  it  may,  as  I  have  stated,  be 
still  reduced,  by  a  system  of  contracts.  The  value  of  im- 
provements abandoned  by  the  Indians,  is  not  included ; 
nor  is  it  supposed  it  was  intended  to  be,  since  what  is 
paid  for  these  will  be  reimbursed,  it  is  fair  to  presume,  in 
the  additional  value  which  these  improvements  will  give 
to  the  land. 

"  If  fifty-five  dollars  be  assumed  as  the  cost  attending 
the  removal  of  each  Indian,  and  supporting  him  for  a  year 
after  his  removal ;  and  if  there  are,  as  is  presumed  to  be, 
eighty  thousand  Indians  east  of  the  Mississippi,  the  entire 
cost  will  be,  for  removing  them,  and  supporting  them  for  a 
year,  four  millions  four  hundred  thousand  dollars.  If  from 
this  be  deducted  the  difference  between  the  actual  cost  of 
the  first  and  the  last  party,  it  would  cost  two  millions 
eight  hundred  and  eighty  thousand  dollars ;  and  if  one- 
third  be  deducted  from  this,  under  a  system  of  contracts, 
which  I  think  would  be  a  fair  reduction,  it  would  be  two 
millions  two  hundred  and  ninety-four  thousand  dollars. 

"  It  is  proper  to  remark,  that  this  estimate  is  based  on 
the  removal  of  eighty  thousand  Indians.  This  number 
has  been  assumed,  because  the  inquiry  contained  in  the 
resolution  of  the  House  of  Representatives  embraces  "  all 
the  Indians  on  the  east  of  the  Mississippi."  If,  however, 
it  were  confined  to  the  Indians  which  it  is  presumed  may 
have  been  intended  to  be  embraced,  viz  :  the  four  southern 
tribes — Chickasaws,  Choctaws,  Creeks,  and  Cherokees — 
the  Seminoles  in  Florida,  and  the  fragments  of  bands  in 
Ohio,  Indiana,  &c.,  those  numbering  about  fifty  thousand, 
it  would  be  proper  to  deduct  one-fourth,  which  would  leave 
one  million  seven  hundred  and  twenty  thousand  dollars. 


216  MEMOIRS,  &c.,  &c. 

This  sum  would  be  a  charge  upon  the  treasury  for  so  much 
expended  in  removing  the  Indians  to,  and  supporting  them 
for  a  year  in  the  country  heretofore  described ;  but,  if  the 
inquiries  embraced  the  question  of  reimbursing  it,  there 
would  be  no  difficulty  in  showing  that  the  lands  abandoned 
by  those  Indians  would,  when  sold,  reimburse  not  only 
this  sum,  but  furnish  a  fund,  besides,  for  their  improvement 
in  the  west,  for  many  years.  As,  however,  this  informa- 
tion is  not  called  for,  I  forbear  to  enter  upon  a  calculation 
of  the  number  of  acres  of  land  that  are  now  claimed  by 
those  eighty  thousand  Indians,  and  to  show  the  probable 
value  of  the  same." 

It  was  the  duty  of  the  Indian  Bureau  to  operate  upon 
all  such  elements,  and  be  prepared,  at  the  shortest  possi- 
ble notice,  to  furnish  this,  and  all  other  information  which 
came  within  the  sphere  of  its  legitimate  operations ;  and 
yet,  pending  this  contract  business,  embracing  so  vast  an 
amount  of  expenditure,  and  when,  to  know  the  price  of 
the  ration,  was  indispensable  to  an  enlightened,  as  well  as 
just  action  upon  the  subject,  I  was  never  inquired  of,  di- 
rectly, and,  I  may  say,  or  indirectly,  for  information  which, 
in  view  of  the  call  for  proposals,  I  had  prepared  myself  to 
furnish. 

The  bids,  for  this  large  business,  varied  from  eight  cents 
per  ration,  to  twenty.  I  gather  this  from  the  public  and 
published  documents ;  for  I  knew  nothing  of  who  bid,  or 
of  the  prices  bid,  until  a  committee  of  the  House  of  Re- 
presentatives published  them.  Luther  Blake's  bid  was  the 
lowest,  viz :  eight  cents.  There  were  others  at  nine  cents, 
nine  and  a  half,  ten,  twelve,  thirteen,  &c.,  up  to  twenty. 
Houston's,  it  appears,  was  eighteen  cents  per  ration. 

I  extract  the  following,  from  Document  No.  502,  House 
of  Representatives,  Twenty-Second  Congress,  First  Ses- 
sion. It  is  Duff  Green's  testimony,  on  oath,  before  the 
committee  of  Congress,  appointed  to  investigate  this  busi- 
ness. To  the  question,  "  Do  you  know  anything  in  rela- 


MEMOIRS,  &c.,  &c.  217 

tion  to  a  contract,  said  to  have  been  attempted  to  have 
been  made  between  Samuel  Houston,  and  the  late  Secre- 
tary of  War,  to  supply  the  emigrating  Indians  with  ra- 
tions ?  If  you  do,  state  that  knowledge." 

"  Answer.  About  the  time  that  the  advertisement  was 
published  in  the  Telegraph  for  proposals,  which  advertise- 
ment has  been  referred  to,  in  the  testimony  of  Mr.  McKen- 
ney,  I  was  at  the  President's,  and  saw  Major  Eaton,  then 
the  Secretary  of  War,  and  General  Houston,  sitting  toge- 
ther in  earnest  conversation;  one  of  whom  (I  believe  the 
secretary)  beckoned  me  to  them,  and  asked  at  what  time 
an  advertisement  intended  for  publication  on  the  next  day 
should  be  sent  to  the  office.  I  replied,  at  any  time  before 
ten  o'clock.  He  said,  I  will  send  you  one  to-morrow. 
General  Houston  said,  '  No,  I  will  call  and  take  it.'  The 
advertisement  was  inserted ;  and  some  time  thereafter,  I 
believe  on  the  18th  of  March,  I  was  in  conversation  with 
Major  Eaton :  he  told  me  that  he  was  about  to  close  an 
important  contract  for  supplying  the  emigrant  Indians  with 
rations ;  that  he  had  ascertained  that  the  ration  had  here- 
tofore cost  about  twenty- two  cents ;  that  General  Hous- 
ton had  gone  on  to  New  York,  and,  having  obtained  a 
wealthy  partner,  (or  security,)  would  take  the  contract  at 
eighteen  cents.  He  estimated  that  the  rations,  at  that 
rate,  would  amount  to  twelve  thousand  dollars  per  day, 
and  seemed  desirous  to  impress  on  my  mind  a  belief  that 
the  difference  between  twenty-two  cents  and  eighteen 
cents  per  ration,  would  be  so  much  saved  to  the  govern- 
ment on  the  issue  to  that  extent.  He  spoke  of  the  num- 
ber of  Indians  whom  he  expected  to  emigrate,  which,  as 
well  as  I  recollect,  he  estimated  from  sixty  to  eighty  thou- 
sand. 

"  I  told  him  that  I  was  satisfied  that,  instead  of  a  saving, 
there  would  be  a  great  loss  to  the  government.  I  told  him 
that  I  knew  that  beef  could  be  purchased  in  Missouri  and 
Illinois,  on  foot,  at  from  one  dollar  to  one  dollar  and  fifty 

VOL.  i.  28 


218  MEMOIRS,  &c.,  &c. 

cents  per  hundred  pounds,  and  that,  without  further  inquiry, 
I  should  suppose  that  the  ration  ought  not  to  cost  more 
than  six  cents.  He  manifested  considerable  impatience, 
and  seemed  unwilling  to  listen  to  me.  I  believe  that 
I  then  urged  him  to  advertise  again,  and  thus  give  to 
the  western  people  an  opportunity  to  bid,  assuring  him 
that  the  result  would  be  a  great  saving  on  the  contract.  I 
left  him  under  a  firm  conviction  that  he  had  determined  to 
give  the  contract  to  Houston,  and  that  his  object  in  speak- 
ing to  me  was  to  induce  me  to  make  a  favorable  mention 
of  the  contract  in  the  United  States  Telegraph.  Upon 
reaching  home,  I  consulted  with  a  friend  from  Missouri, 
then  at  my  house,  and  expressed  my  wish  that  some  one 
could  be  induced  to  put  in  a  lower  bid.  He  suggested 
that  Mr.  John  Shackford,  then  a  respectable  merchant  at 
St.  Louis,  and  now  the  door-keeper  of  the  Senate,  then  in 
the  city,  would  be  a  proper  person  to  do  so;  and  I  imme- 
diately sent  for  Mr.  Shackford.  I  explained  to  him  my 
suspicions ;  told  him  what  had  transpired  between  Major 
Eaton  and  myself,  and  urged  him  to  put  in  a  lower  bid, 
saying  to  him  that  my  object  in  sending  for  him  was,  first, 
to  induce  some  one  to  bid  the  contract  down  as  near  as 
possible  to  a  fair  price,  so  as  to  save  the  money  of  the 
government ;  and,  next,  to  prevent  the  effect  which  I  plainly 
foresaw  such  a  contract  as  that  contemplated  with  Hous- 
ton would  have  on  the  character  and  popularity  of  the  ad- 
ministration;  and  that,  knowing  that  he  was  not  a  parti- 
san of  the  administration,  I  relied  upon  his  honor  not  to 
use  the  facts  then  disclosed,  to  the  prejudice  of  the  admin- 
istration, if  we  could  prevent  the  contemplated  contract. 
He  told  me  that  he  had  invested  a  large  amount  of  his 
property  in  the  Louisville  and  Portland  canal,  and,  that  the 
stock  being  unproductive  and  below  par,  he  was  not  in  funds, 
and  that  his  disappointment  made  him  fearful  to  enter  into 
any  enterprise  attended  with  uncertainty.  We  examined 
the  proposals,  and  he  commented  upon  the  power  which 


MEMOIRS,  &c.,  &c.  219 

the  secretary  would  have  over  the  contract,  and  the  dan- 
ger of  embarking  in  it  against  his  wishes,  and  seemed  un- 
willing to  put  in  a  bid  at  what  I  considered  a  fair  price. 
He  agreed,  however,  to  think  of  it  until  the  next  day,  and 
did  call  on  the  next  morning.  Finding  that  he  would  not 
consent  to  put  in  a  bid  at  such  a  price  as  I  believed  the 
government  ought  to  accept,  I  resolved  to  see  the  Presi- 
dent, and,  if  possible,  to  prevail  on  him  to  extend  the  time 
of  receiving  proposals. 

"  When  I  entered  the  President's  room,  I  found  him  in 
conversation  with  Governor  Branch.  (It  is  my  impres- 
sion, although  the  governor,  the  other  day,  told  me  that  he 
thinks  he  entered  the  room  after  I  did.)  I  apologized  for 
calling,  by  referring  immediately  to  the  contract ;  said  that 
I  was  confident  that  it  could  be  furnished  for  much  less 
than  I  understood  the  department  was  about  to  give.  The 
President  said  that  they  had  ascertained  that  the  ration 
had  cost  twenty-two  cents ;  General  Houston  had  gone  on 
to  New  York,  and  had  brought  with  him  (or  obtained)  a 
wealthy  partner,  (or  security,)  and  that  the  contract  would 
be  given  to  him  at  eighteen  cents.  I  then  referred  to  the 
price  of  beef,  corn,  &c.,  in  the  west,  and  said  that  I  was 
confident  the  rations  could  be  furnished  at  six  cents.  He 
replied,  quickly,  '  Will  you  take  it  at  ten  ?'  I  said,  no,  sir. 
He  then  said,  '  Will  you  take  it  at  twelve  cents ;  if  you  will, 
you  shall  have  it  at  that  ?'  I  told  him  that  I  was  not  a 
bidder  for  the  contract ;  that,  although  I  was  satisfied  that 
I  could  realize  an  immense  sum  upon  such  a  contract,  I  was 
influenced  to  call  upon  him  by  a  desire  to  serve  him 
and  the  administration,  and  not  by  a  wish  to  speculate ; 
and  left  him.  Upon  reaching  home,  I  wrote  to  Major 
Eaton  a  letter,  which  I  gave  to  my  youngest  brother,  then 
living  with  me,  to  copy  in  my  confidential  letter-book, 
with  instructions  to  carry  it  to  Major  Eaton ;  which  he 
told  me  that  he  did.  The  letter  was  as  follows  : — 


220  MEMOIRS,   &c.,  &c. 

"  WASHINGTON,  March  19,  1830. 
"  To  MAJOR  EATON  :— 

"  After  leaving  you  last  evening,  I  examined,  for  the  first 
time,  your  proposals  for  rations.  From  my  knowledge  of 
the  prices  of  beef  and  corn  in  the  Western  States,  I  am 
confident  that  the  proposed  rations  ought  not  to  cost  ten 
cents ;  yet  I  understand  you  to  say  that  you  expect  to  give 
from  eighteen  to  twenty  cents,  and  that  the  issue,  at  these 
prices,  will  amount  to  twelve  thousand  dollars  per  day. 

"  That  a  contract  of  such  amount  should  be  made  with- 
out giving  notice  to  the  Western  States,  where  provisions 
must  be  purchased,  will  be  a  cause  of  attack ;  but  when  I 
read  the  advertisement,  and  see  that  it  is  so  worded  as  not 
to  convey  any  idea  of  the  speculation  it  affords,  and  con- 
nect it  with  the  facts,  which  are  within  my  own  knowledge, 
that  it  was  prepared  under  the  special  advisement  of  Gen- 
eral Houston,  who  has  gone  on  to  New  York,  and  has 
brought  from  there  a  wealthy  partner  to  join  him  in  the 
contract,  I  should  be  unfaithful  to  the  administration,  to 
General  Jackson,  and  to  myself,  if  I  did  not  bring  the  sub- 
ject before  you  in  such  a  shape  as  to  guard  against  the 
consequences  which  I  foresee  will  follow  any  such  contract 
as  the  one  he  contemplates. 

"  Such  a  contract  may  enrich  a  few  who  are  concerned 
in  it,  but  will  destroy  the  confidence  of  the  public,  I  fear, 
in  the  administration,  and  impair  the  fair  fame  of  the  Pres- 
ident, which  it  is  your  duty  and  mine  to  guard.  Will  it 
not  be  well  to  extend  the  time,  so  as  to  enable  the  people 
of  Missouri  and  Arkansas  to  bid  ? 

"  Yours,  &c.,  D.  GREEN." 

Duff  Green  swore  further,  that "  he  had  no  doubt,  at  the 
time  of  examining  the  proposals,  that  they  were  so  framed 
as  to  prevent  competition,  by  presenting  difficulties,  as 
well  in  the  fulfilment  of  the  contract,  as  in  the  control 
which  was  reserved  to  the  department.  The  tendency 


MEMOIRS,  &c.,  &c.  221 

was  to  prevent  bidders  from  making  accurate  calculations 
of  the  cost,  inasmuch  as  he  believed  that  the  contract 
could  have  been  made  at  six  cents,  allowing  a  fair  profit  to 
the  contractor,  in  case  he  had  full  confidence  in  the  de- 
partment. He  had  no  doubt,  that,  even  under  the  propo- 
sals, a  contract  could  have  been  made,  if  due  notice  had 
been  given  in  the  Western  States,  to  furnish  the  rations  at 
ten  cents."  And  further — 

"  When  I  found  that  Mr.  Shackford  would  not  put  in  a 
bid  at  what  I  considered  a  fair  price,  I  then  appealed 
to  the  President  (General  Jackson)  for  the  same  purpose, 
(which  was  to  defeat  the  contract  with  Houston.)  During 
my  interview  with  him,  I  became  satisfied  that  he  would 
interpose  no  obstacle  to  the  contract  with  Houston." 

The  bidders  at  eight  and  nine  cents — being  the  lowest 
— became  restless.  One  of  them,  William  Prentiss,  opened 
quite  a  sharp  correspondence  with  the  Secretary  of  War. 

Colonel  Sevier,  United  States  Senator,  of  Arkansas,  tes- 
tified that  "  he  was  a  good  deal  provoked,  and  took  every 
step  in  his  power  to  defeat  the  contract.  He  thought  the 
citizens  of  Arkansas,  who  had  the  supplies  of  beef  and 
corn  among  themselves,  were  shut  out  from  making  bids ; 
the  advertisement  allowing  but  thirty  days  for  the  recep- 
tion of  bids,  when  it  would  take  nearly  thirty  days  to  reach 
Arkansas.  He  saw  the  Secretary  of  War,  and  remonstra- 
ted ;  wrote  to  him,  &c. ;  and  learned  from  him  something 
about  turning  it  (the  providing  of  rations)  to  the  manage- 
ment of  General  Gibson,  of  the  Commissary  Depart- 
ment." 

I  had  not  only  incurred  General  Houston's  displeasure, 
in  the  preliminary  steps  of  this  business,  as  recorded  in 
this  narrative,  but  on  learning  from  my  chief  clerk,  Mr. 
Hambleton,  that  he  was  in  the  habit  of  going  into  his 
room,  pending  this  ration  business  season,  and  asking  for 
papers,  and  taking  them  out  with  him ;  and  in  reply  to  my 
question  whether  he  brought  with  him  the  order  of  the 


222  MEMOIRS,  &c.,  &c. 

Secretary  of  War,  and  receiving  for  answer  that  he  had 
not,  I  directed  that  such  unauthorized  liberties  should  be 
granted  to  no  one. 

The  next  day  General  Houston  entered  my  office  through 
the  door  leading  to  the  clerk's  room,  in  a  highly  excited 
state,  and  demanded  to  know  if  I  had  forbidden  to  him  the 
use  of  such  papers  as  he  might  want.  I  replied — I  have 
given  such  orders.  He  gave  vent  to  much  threatening, 
and  retired,  grating  his  teeth,  saying,  "  You  shall  suffer  for 
it"  I  reported  to  the  Secretary  of  War  the  nature  of  this 
interview ;  told  him  that  I  had  directed  my  chief  clerk  to 
allow  no  one,  without  his  orders,  to  take  from  the  office 
any  paper  belonging  to  it,  as  I  felt  myself  responsible  for 
the  safe-keeping  of  the  records,  &c.  I  received  no  an- 
swer ;  but  pointing  to  a  sofa  which  was  in  the  room,  the 
secretary  said,  "  There  are  some  papers ;"  (and  I  think  a 
letter-book,)  "  you  had  better  take  them."  I  did  so,  and 
restored  them  to  their  proper  places.  Mr.  Hambleton  told 
me  these  were  the  papers  that  had  been  taken  from  the  of- 
fice by  General  Houston. 

The  conclusion  of  all  this  ration  business,  was,  to  re- 
cognize no  one  who  had  made  proposals ;  but,  overlooking 
the  bids  that  had  been  made,  the  duty  of  providing  the  ra- 
tions for  the  emigrating  Indians  was  referred  to  the  Sub- 
sistence Department. 

Whether  before,  or  after  this  transaction,  I  forget,  my 
chief  clerk,  Mr.  Hambleton,  came  into  my  room  one  morn- 
ing, soon  after  I  had  taken  my  seat  at  my  table,  and  put- 
ting his  hands  upon  it,  leaned  over.  I  looked  up,  and  saw 
his  eyes  were  full  of  tears  !  To  my  question — Is  anything 
the  matter,  Mr.  Hambleton?  "  Yes,  sir — I  am  pained  to  in- 
form you,  that  you  are  to  be  displaced  to-day  !  We  all 
feel  it.  Our  connexion  has  been  one  of  unbroken  Jiajmony ; 
and  we  are  grieved  at  the  thought  of  a  separation.  The 
President  has  appointed  General  Thompson,  a  member  of 
Congress,  of  Georgia — he  boards  at  my  mother's,  and  I 


MEMOIRS,  &c.,  &c.  223 

have  it  from  himself.  He  says  1  shall  remain,  but  the  rest 
of  the  clerks  he  shall  dismiss,  to  make  room  for  some  of 
the  President's  friends." 

Well,  Mr.  H.,  I  replied,  it  is  what  I  have  been  constantly 
looking  for.  Your  annunciation  does  not  at  all  surprise 
me ;  indeed,  it  puts  an  end  to  my  suspense ;  and,  apart  from 
the  pain  of  leaving  you  all,  and  the  thought  that  others  are 
to  be  cut  adrift,  as  well  as  myself,  I  feel  relieved.  He 
walked  a  few  times  across  my  room,  and  then  retired  to 
his,  which  joined  mine.  Two  hours  after,  I  heard  walk- 
ing, and  earnest  talking  in  the  passage.  They  continued 
for  half  an  hour.  When  they  ceased,  Mr.  Hambleton  came 
into  my  room,  his  face  all  dressed  in  smiles,  saying,  "  It  is 
not  to  be  /"  What  is  not  to  be  ?  "  You  are  not  to  go  out. 
When  General  Thompson  came  to  the  secretary  this 
morning,  with  the  President's  reference  to  him,  to  assign 
him  to  your  place,  he  was  told,  before  he  could  act,  he 
(the  secretary)  must  see  the  President.  The  result  of  the 
secretary's  interview  with  the  President  was,  you  were  to 
be  retained,  and  General  Thompson  is  referred  back  to 
the  President,  for  explanation,  &c.  Thompson  is  in  a 
rage  about  it — and  among  other  things  said,  "  IPs  a  pretty 
business,  indeed,  that  Eaton  thinks  he  can  command  a  frigate, 
and  I  carft  manage  a  cock-boat  /" 


224  MEMOIRS,  &c.,  &c. 


CHAPTER  X. 

PLANS   FOR    IMPROVING    THE  CONDITION   OF    THE    INDIANS. 
HINDRANCES  IN  THE  WAY  OF  THEIR  EXECUTION. 

Organization  of  "  the  Indian  Board"  at  New  York — Address  before  the  Indian 
Board — Claims  of  the  Indians  presented — Massasoit — Pocahontas — Benevolent 
designs  of  the  Pilgrims — Obstacles  to  be  overcome — The  Indian  vindicated — 
The  Indian  a  victim  to  the  vices  of  civilization — Some  of  the  obstacles  to  his 
improvement  removed — His  anticipated  progress — Destiny  of  our  country — 
Duty  to  the  Indians — Views  of  President  John  Quincy  Adams — Different 
views  of  emigration — Diminution  of  the  tribes — Some  wholly  exterminated — 
An  erroneous  impression  corrected — Terms  of  the  proposed  removal — Imagi- 
nary talk  with  the  Indians — Conclusion — Letter  of  "  the  Indian  Board"  to  the 
Executive — Reply  by  General  Eaton — Comment  upon  this  correspondence — 
Total  failure  ot  the  objects  of  this  organization — The  causes  of  this  failure — 
Protection  promised  the  Indian — Promise  fulfilled  by  force. 

IN  July  of  the  year  1829,  the  Secretary  of  War  respond- 
ed to  a  call  made  upon  him  by  an  association  of  distin- 
guished and  benevolent  citizens  (chiefly  clergymen  and 
laymen  of  the  Dutch  Reformed  Church)  of  New  York,  for 
my  presence  in  that  city,  and  services,  in  aiding  them  in 
the  formation  of  a  Board  whose  object  was,  to  advance 
the  interest,  and  promote  the  well-being  of  the  Indians,  by 
authorizing  me  to  meet  them.  These  intelligent  and  phi- 
lanthropic gentlemen  saw  the  increasing  dangers  by  which 
the  Indians  within  our  States  and  organized  Territories 
were  surrounded ;  and  contemplated,  with  anxious  solici- 
tude, the  perishing  result,  in  the  total  extinction  of  the 
portions  of  this  race  who  were  thus  situated,  and  sought  to 
save  them,  by  the  only  means  which  they  believed  were 
adapted  to  so  noble  an  object ;  and  these  were,  by  a  pro- 
per enlightening  of  the  Indians,  to  procure  their  assent  to 


MEMOIRS,   &c.,  &c.  225 

change  their  relations  to  the  whites,  by  emigrating  to  lands 
west  of  the  Mississippi,  and  beyond  the  limits  of  our 
States,  and  to  a  condition,  there — social,  political,  moral, 
and  religious — that  could,  as  they  viewed  it,  never  be 
-realized  where  they  were.  The  entire  scheme,  however, 
was  based  on  the  voluntary  consent  of  the  Indians  to  re- 
move, and  upon  the  granting  of  the  appropriate  privileges 
and  powers  to  them,  in  their  new  homes,  by  the  government, 
for  their  security,  preservation,  exaltation,  and  happiness.  I 
repaired  to  New  York,  and  met  the  gentlemen  who  had 
originated  this  benevolent  scheme. 

At  a  preliminary  meeting,  it  was — "  Resolved,  That  the 
Rev.  Eli  Baldwin,  Colonel  McKenney,  and  the  Rev.  Dr. 
Brodhead,  be  a  committee  to  draft  a  constitution,  which 
shall  be  to  direct  the  proceedings  of  a  proposed  associa- 
tion for  the  salvation  of  the  Indian  race." 

The  following  preamble  and  constitution  were  read  in 
presence  of  a  number  of  citizens  of  various  denominations, 
from  the  Reformed  Dutch,  Episcopal,  Presbyterian,  and 
Moravian  churches,  at  the  consistory  chamber,  corner  of 
Nassau  and  Ann  streets,  the  Rev.  Dr.  McLeod  being  chair- 
man, and  Rev.  Eli  Baldwin,  secretary : — 

PREAMBLE. 

The  situation  of  the  scattered  remains  of  the  Aborigines  of  this  country,  in- 
volving, on  the  one  side,  the  wrongs,  the  calamities,  and  the  probable  extermina- 
tion of  an  interesting  race  of  men ;  and  on  the  other  side,  the  great  perplexity  of 
the  government  of  the  United  States,  arising  from  its  unwillingness,  as  well  as 
from  its  want  of  power,  to  interfere  with  the  sovereignty  of  the  States'  govern- 
ments, has  for  a  long  time  employed  the  skill  of  the  statesman,  and  the  benevo- 
lence of  the  religious  community. 

Although  what  has  been  done,  has  neither  accomplished  the  magnanimous 
and  enlarged  views  of  our  government,  nor  realized  the  expectations  of  religious 
enterprise ;  yet,  from  the  experience  of  the  past,  we  have  arrived  at  the  conclusion 
that  the  harmony  of  these  United  States,  the  preservation  of  the  American  In- 
dians from  total  extermination,  and,  consequently,  the  cause  of  humanity,  require 
some  prompt  and  decisive  measures,  calculated  to  carry  into  effect  the  only  alter- 
native left — namely,  the  final  and  speedy  removal  of  the  scattered  remains  of  the 
Indian  tribes  from  within  the  jurisdictional  limits  of  sovereign  States,  to  such 
place  or  places  as  will  put  them  fully  within  the  sovereign  control  of  the  federal 
VOL.  i.  29 


226  MEMOIRS,   &c.,  &c. 

government,  so  as  to  prevent  the  calamities  of  the  past,  and  secure  the  perpetuity 
of  their  rights,  in  the  future.  Therefore,  in  order  to  promote  an  object  so  impera- 
tive and  desirable,  an  Association  is  hereby  formed,  under  the  following 

CONSTITUTION. 

ARTICLE  I. 

This  Association  shall  be  known  by  the  style  of  "  THE  INDIAN  BOARD,  FOR 

THE  EMIGRATION,  PRESERVATION,  AND  IMPROVEMENT  OF  THE  ABORIGINES  OF  NORTH 

AMERICA." 

ARTICLE  II. 

The  acting  members  of  this  Association  shall  not  exceed  thirty  in  number ;  not 
less  than  one-half  of  whom  shall  be  residents  of  the  city  of  New  York ;  all  of 
whom  shall  have  signed  the  Constitution ;  and  seven  shall  constitute  a  quorum  at 
a  meeting  regularly  convened. 

ARTICLE  in. 

The  officers  of  this  Association  shall  be,  a  President,  five  Vice-Presidents,  a 
Corresponding  Secretary,  (who  shall  be  authorized  to  employ  a  clerk,)  and  a 
Treasurer,  chosen  by  ballot  out  of  the  acting  members  of  the  Association. 

ARTICLE  IV. 

This  Board  engages  to  afford  to  the  emigrant  Indians,  all  the  necessary  instruc- 
tion in  the  arts  of  life,  and  in  the  duties  of  religion. 

ARTICLE  V. 

This  Board  is  pledged  to  co-operate  with  the  federal  government  of  the  United 
States,  in  its  operations  in  Indian  affairs ;  and  at  no  time  contravene  its  laws. 

ARTICLE  VI. 

This  Association  invite  the  citizens  of  the  United  States,  without  respect  to 
sect  or  party,  religious  or  political,  to  co-operate  with  them  in  this  benevolent 
enterprise. 

ARTICLE  VH. 

This  Board  shall  fill  up  vacancies,  occurring  from  any  cause,  by  ballot. 

ARTICLE  vm. 

This  Board  shall  have  power  to  elect  honorary  members  by  ballot ;  no  choice, 
however,  shall  be  made  at  the  same  meeting  in  which  they  are  proposed.  Per- 
sons so  elected,  shall  have  the  privileges  of  members,  with  the  exception  of  a 
right  to  vote. 

ARTICLE  IX. 

No  alterations  or  amendments  of  this  Constitution  shall  be  made,  unless  con- 


MEMOIRS,  &c.,  &c.  227 

curred  in  by  three-fourths  of  the  acting  members ;  and  no  proposed  amendment 
shall  be  acted  upon,  at  the  same  meeting  at  which  it  may  be  submitted. 

[Signed] 

Alexander  McLeod,  Samuel  Van  Wyck, 

Philip  Milledolar,  T.  L.  Ogden, 

Jacob  Brodhead,  George  W.  Strong, 

Isaac  Van  Hook,  Jno.  Clark, 

W.  C.  Brownlee,  Stephen  Van  Rensselaer, 

R.  McCartee,  Eli  Baldwin, 

N.  J.  Marcelus,  S.  H.  Meeker, 

Thomas  G.  Talmadge,  Cornelius  C.  Cuyler, 

Cornelius  D.  Westbrook,  Abraham  Van  Nest, 

Peter  P.  Rouse,  Cornelius  Heyer, 

Hugh  Auchincloss,  Jacob  R.  Hardenberg, 

Joseph  V.  Varick,  Thomas  DeWitt, 

Joseph  M.  Smith,  Abraham  Bloodgood, 

Stephen  Hasbrouck,  Wm.  H.  Van  Vleck. 
Richard  Duryee, 
NEW  YORK,  July  22,  1829. 

A  ballot  being  cast,  the  following  were  chosen  officers 
of  the  Association  : — 

Hon.  STEPHEN  VAN  RENSSELAER,  President. 
Rev.  ALEXANDER  McLEOD,  D.  D., 
PHILIP  MILLEDOLAR,  D.  D., 


JACOB  BRODHEAD,  D.  D., 


Vice-Presidents. 


CORNELIUS  D.  WESTBROOK,  D.  D., 
ABRAHAM  VAN  NEST,  Esq., 
Rev.  ELI  BALDWIN,  Corresponding  Secretary. 
JNO.  CLARK,  M.  D.,  Treasurer. 

To  a  letter  enclosing  a  copy  of  the  constitution  to  Gen- 
eral Van  Rensselaer,  the  following  reply  was  addressed  to 
the  Corresponding  Secretary : — 

"  ALBANY,  August  4,  1829. 

"  MY  DEAR  SIR  : — On  my  return  on  Saturday,  from  an  official  tour  to  Lake 
Erie,  I  received  Dr.  Westbrook's  letter,  and  the  constitution  of  the  Indian  Board, 
&c.  I  congratulate  you,  and  the  friends  of  the  poor  Aborigines  of  our  country, 
on  the  organization  of  the  Board.  I  anticipate  the  happiest  results.  I  only  re- 
gret that  my  distance  from  New  York  will  render  me  less  efficient  than  I  wi|fi. 
To  co-operate  with  the  government  in  the  laudable  undertaking,  will  be  my  pride. 
"  My  recent  return  from  a  fatiguing  journey  is  my  apology  for  not  attending  the 
meeting  on  Wednesday. 

"  Very  respectfully  your  friend,  &c. 

S.  VAN  RENSSELAER." 


228  MEMOIRS,  &c.,  &c. 

It  was  resolved,  at  a  meeting  of  the  Board  held  at  Dr. 
McLeod's  church,  Chambers-street,  on  the  afternoon  of 
the  28th,  to  invite  me  to  deliver  an  address  to  the  public 
meeting  which  was  called  to  assemble  at  that  church.  In 
pursuance  of  which,  the  following  letter  was  addressed  to 
me,  by  the  Corresponding  Secretary : — 

"NEW  YORK,  July  29,  1829. 

"  DEAR  SIR  : — At  a  meeting  of  '  the  Indian  Board,  for  the  emigration,  preser- 
vation, and  improvement  of  the  Aborigines  of  North  America,'  held  yesterday 
afternoon,  the  following  resolution  was  passed,  viz  : — 

"  Resolved,  That  the  secretary  invite  Colonel  McKenney  to  deliver  an  address 
at  the  public  meeting,  to  be  held  at  Dr.  McLeod's  church,  in  Chambers-street, 
on  the  5th  proximo,  at  half-past  seven  o'clock,  P.  M. 

"  Permit  me,  sir,  earnestly  to  entreat  your  compliance  with  the  above.  From  a 
long  acquaintance  with  Indian  affairs,  (as  the  head  of  the  department)  you  are 
doubtless  conversant  with  many  facts  and  circumstances,  calculated  to  interest  the 
feelings,  and  inform  the  minds  of  the  public ;  these  would  be  peculiarly  grateful 
on  that  occasion,  and  facilitate  the  future  operations  of  the  Board. 

"  It  is  scarcely  necessary  to  say,  that  a  favorable  answer  to  the  above,  will  give 
personal  pleasure  to,  sir, 

"  Your  obedient  servant, 

ELI  BALDWIN,  Cor.  Sec'y." 


ANSWER. 

"  NEW  YORK,  July  30,  1829. 
"  To  the  Rev.  ELI  BALDWIN,  Corresponding  Secretary,  &c.,  &c. 

"  DEAR  SIR  : — I  am  just  favored  with  your  letter  of  yesterday,  informing  me  of 
a  resolution  of  your  Board,  embracing  an  invitation  to  me  to  deliver  an  address 
at  the  public  meeting,  to  be  held  in  Dr.  McLeod's  church,  in  Chambers-street,  on 
the  5th  proximo ;  and  conveying  your  own  earnest  entreaty  that  I  would  comply 
with  the  wishes  of  the  Board. 

"  In  reply,  I  have  to  state,  that  having  been  sent  on  here,  by  the  Executive,  in 
compliance  with  a  request  made  by  you,  in  behalf  of  the  Association,  then  about 
to  be  formed,  to  aid  you  with  such  information  as  I  might  possess,  in  the  further- 
ance of  your  benevolent  intentions  towards  the  Indians,  I  do  not  well  see 
how  I  could,  with  propriety,  decline  to  render  any  aid  which  you  might  consider 
important  in  its  bearing  on  the  great  object  you  have  in  view ;  and,  however 
convinced  I  may  be,  that  more  efficient  service  might  be  rendered  in  this  part  of 
the  plan  of  your  operations,  by  others  better  qualified  for  the  task  than  I  feel  my- 
self to  be,  still,  I  will  be  present  at  the  meeting,  and,  as  far  as  I  may  be  able,  act 
in  compliance  with  the  wishes  of  your  Board. 

"  I  am,  Reverend  sir,  &c.,  &c. 

THOMAS  L.  MCKENNEY." 


MEMOIRS,  &c.,  &c.  229 

ADDRESS. 

There  are,  to  use  the  words  of  a  distinguished  citizen 
of  Virginia,  two  problems  yet  to  be  solved,  both  having, 
so  far,  puzzled  the  ingenuity  of  the  politician,  and  baffled 
the  wisdom  of  the  sage.  "One  of  these  relates  to  the  black 
population  which  we  carry  in  our  bosom ;  the  other  to  the 
red  population  which  we  carry  on  our  back."  The  inqui- 
ry is,  how  shall  we,  upon  principles  of  sound  policy,  work 
out  solutions  that  shall  provide  a  remedy  for  the  evils  of 
the  one,  and  a  plan  for  the  civilization  and  preservation  of 
the  other.  These  are  questions,  it  must  be  admitted,  of 
grave  import.  They  are  full  of  interest,  and  demand  the 
untiring  exertions  of  the  wise  and  good,  to  answer  them 
practically  and  satisfactorily. 

Our  business,  on  the  present  occasion,  is  with  our  red 
population — the  remains  of  a  once  lofty  and  independent, 
but  now  degraded  race ;  a  people,  who  are,  in  all  respects, 
entitled  to  our  sympathies,  and  not  to  ours,  only,  but  those, 
also,  of  the  civilized  world.  Any  appeal  which  can  be 
made  in  behalf  of  the  Aborigines  of  America,  we  consider 
as  entitled  to  the  privilege  of  passing,  not  the  bounds  of 
neighborhood,  only,  but  of  the  republic.  Every  heart,  no 
matter  on  what  spot  of  earth  it  pulsates,  must  feel,  if  it 
have  become  humanized,  the  deepest  interest  in  any  prop- 
osition that  looks  to  their  rescue  from  the  savage,  and  ele- 
vation into  the  civilized  and  Christian  state. 

Perhaps  there  are  some  in  this  assembly,  who  question 
the  extent  to  which  the  sympathies  of  our  race  are  claimed 
for  our  Indians.  If  so,  we  would  refer  such  to  Plymouth  and 
to  Jamestown ;  to  Samoset  and  Massasoit,  at  the  one  place, 
and  to  Pocahontas  at  the  other.  It  were  not  difficult  to  fancy 
these  distinguished  natives  in  the  midst  of  this  assembly, 
prepared  to  defend,  by  their  own  simple,  but  powerful  elo- 
quence, the  claims  assumed  for  their  race.  Massasoit  would 
appear,  doubtless,  arrayed  in  the  habiliments  of  his  nor- 
thern forests  ;  with  moccasins  and  leggins,  made  of  the 


230  MEMOIRS,  &c.,  &c. 

skins  of  beasts  he  had  slain ;  and  a  robe  over  his  shoulder 
of  the  same  material.  His  porte,  erect  and  manly.  With 
one  hand  at  his  breast,  he  would  grasp  the  partial  and 
shaggy  covering  of  his  body,  and  with  the  other  bared  and 
extended,  he  would  thus  speak — 

"  When  your  pilgrim  fathers  approached  the  shore  of 
my  domain,  I  eyed  them  well.  They  were  strangers.  I 
knew  not  who  they  were,  or  whence  they  had  come  ;  but 
I  saw  they  were  men.  The  rock  on  which  they  landed, 
was  my  rock ;  and  it  was  washed  by  the  waters  of  my 
river.  I  stood  up,  and  saw  they  were  afraid.  My  heart 
felt  pity  for  them.  I  bade  my  warrior-bands  retire,  and 
unstring  their  bows,  and  put  up  their  arrows  in  their  quiv- 
ers. They  did  as  I  bade  them.  I,  alone,  advanced  to- 
wards the  strangers.  Their  faces  were  white  with  fear ! 
They  looked  upon  each  other,  and  spoke  not ;  and  then 
looked  upon  me,  and  trembled  !  In  this  hand,  I  held  an  ear 
of  corn ;  with  it,  I  advanced  towards  their  leader,  and  ex- 
tended it  to  him.  He  understood  me.  It  was  the  offer  of 
peace,  and  the  token  of  my  friendship.  I  welcomed  them 
to  my  lands,  and  gave  them  protection.  Who  doubts  my 
power,  by  a  single  glance  of  my  eye,  to  have  sent  a  thou- 
sand deaths  to  quiver  in  the  breasts  of  these  your  fathers, 
and  to  have  strewed  the  beach  with  their  dead  bodies  ?" 

"  And  what,"  we  might  fancy  Pocahontas  to  say, "  would 
have  been  the  fate  of  Captain  Smith,  the  leader  of  those 
who  came  across  the  deep  waters  to  the  lands  of  Powhatan, 
my  father,  had  not  a  gush  of  pity  forced  itself  on  my  heart, 
and  impelled  me  to  throw  myself  between  that  leader  of 
your  fathers,  and  the  club  that  was  uplifted  to  dash  out  his 
brains  ?  And  what  the  fate  of  those  who  attended  him  ?" 
"  And  where,"  we  may  fancy  them  both  asking,  "  would 
now  be  their  descendants,  who,  numerous  as  the  leaves  of 
our  forests,  fill  our  valleys,  and  sail  upon  our  rivers,  and 
hunt  in  our  mountains  ?"  And  where,  we  ask,  would  have 
been  the  hundreds  of  thousands  of  the  oppressed  and  dis- 


MEMOIRS,  &c.,  &c.  231 

tressed  of  the  old  world,  who  in  later  times,  like  the  pil- 
grim fathers,  have  sought,  and  like  them  found,  an  asylum 
in  the  new  ?  Who  can  doubt  that  those  generous  savages 
gave  us  this  country ;  or  that,  with  other  dispositions  than 
those  which  animated  them,  we  might  not  have  possessed 
it  for  centuries  to  come,  if  ever  ? 

If  this  be  so,  and  if  this  western  world  have,  in  its  soil 
and  climate ;  in  its  institutions,  civil,  and  political,  and  re- 
ligious, anything  to  endear  it  to  the  heart  of  man,  then 
does  the  obligation  exist,  not  in  those  only  who  possess 
this  fair  inheritance,  but  in  those,  also,  who  enjoy  it  in 
prospect,  or  draw  lessons  from  our  admirable  institutions 
for  the  better  regulation  of  their  liberty,  or  the  mainte- 
nance of  their  own  peace  and  security,  to  feel  for,  and  suc- 
cor those  who  were  once  the  proprietors  of  this  domain — 
a  domain  on  which  is  now  acting  the  most  engaging  scenes 
in  practical  government  ever  presented  to  the  observation 
of  the  world.  The  beautiful  theory,  long  thought  to  be 
Utopian,  of  a  government  like  ours,  is  no  longer  matter  of 
speculation,  but  of  practical  operation.  The  predictions 
of  its  weakness  and  instability,  have  had  their  answers  in 
the  new  and  increasing  glory  which  shines  upon  it ;  and 
which  has  been  struck  out  by  collisions,  the  prospect  of 
which  made  many  a  patriotic  and  stout  heart  tremble. 

The  more  exalted  our  state,  and  the  more  perfect  our 
happiness,  the  deeper  should  we  feel  the  obligation  not  to 
suffer  those  to  whose  country  we  have  succeeded,  to  per- 
ish before  our  eyes.  We  have  often,  when  surveying  the 
wretched  condition  of  our  Indians,  felt  the  apprehension, 
that  perhaps  enough  of  anxiety  was  not  felt  by  our  fathers 
for  their  condition ;  and  that  they  were  permitted  to  de- 
scend to  us  in  a  state  unfavorable  to  improvement : — but 
the  more  we  have  examined  into  this  subject,  the  more 
thorough  has  become  our  conviction  that  the  reputation 
of  the  pilgrims  for  humanity  and  kind  intentions,  is  unim- 
peachable. They  meditated  no  exterminating  designs ; 


232  MEMOIRS,  &c.,  &c. 

they  cherished  no  feelings  of  hostility,  but  the  contrary, 
towards  those  untutored  people.  If  we  consult  what  re- 
mains of  the  records  of  those  earlier,  and  we  will  add  later, 
times,  we  shall  find  that  so  soon,  and  wheresoever  it  wras 
practicable  to  begin  the  work  of  enlightening  the  natives, 
it  was  attempted.  Let  it  not  be  assumed,  that  because 
those  efforts  failed,  as  they  did,  except  partially,  to  accom- 
plish the  benevolent  ends  contemplated,  that  they  were  not 
cherished  and  acted  upon.  Never  were  labors  more  apos- 
tolic than  were  those  which  the  Elliots,  and  Mayhews,  and 
Brainards,  and  Kirklands,  introduced  into  the  wilderness 
of  mind  by  which  they  were  surrounded ;  nor  purer,  or 
more  disinterested  purposes  formed,  in  reference  to  any 
object,  than  were  those  that  contemplated  to  confer  upon 
the  Aborigines  the  blessings  of  civilization  and  Christian- 
ity. Roxbury,  Nantucket,  Elizabeth  Isles,  Martha's  Vine- 
yard, and  numerous  other  places,  attest  the  sincerity  and 
zeal  of  those  who  labored  to  reform  these  people.  Com- 
parative success,  only,  attended  those  labors ;  when,  from 
the  failure  to  accomplish  anything  more  than  a  partial 
change,  arguments  were  drawn  adverse  in  their  conclu- 
sions to  the  Indian's  capacity  for  improvement,  and  the 
question  has  often  been  asked — 

Why,  if  the  Indians  are  endowed  with  the  faculties  com- 
mon to  the  whites,  and  are  susceptible,  like  ourselves,  to  be 
improved  by  the  lessons  of  civilization,  have  they  remained 
uncivilized,  as  a  people,  to  this  day  ?  Numerous,  we  an- 
swer, have  been  always  the  obstacles  to  such  a  change ; 
but  not  one  of  these  involves  the  dreary  and  disheartening 
conclusion  that,  by  any  law  of  his  nature,  the  Indian  is 
precluded  from  the  benefits  which  civilization  confers ;  or 
from  a  participation  in  all  that  is  great  and  good  amongst 
men.  But  what  were  those  obstacles  ?  We  would  enume- 
rate, as  constituting  some  of  them — the  almost  boundless 
extent  of  the  forests,  and  the  easy  means  of  subsistence 
furnished  the  Indian,  in  the  game  that  abounded  there ;  his 


MEMOIRS,  &c.,  &c.  233 

passion  for  the  chase,  and  for  war ;  his  conceptions  of  his 
own  power  and  independence,  and  the  consequent  indispo- 
sition arising  out  of  all  these  to  submit  to  restraint ;  the 
preference  he  cherishes  for  the  sports  and  pastimes,  and 
the  traditions  of  his  fathers ;  the  habits  which  become 
grafted  on  these ;  the  indolence  consequent  upon  such  a 
state  of  being,  and  the  aversion  arising  out  of  it  to  intellec- 
tual exertion.  To  these  may  be  superadded  various  influ- 
ences acting  upon  the  Indian  from  without,  and  the  inflic- 
tion upon  him,  by  avarice,  of  wrongs  and  outrages,  which 
tended  to  destroy  his  confidence  in  the  white  man,  and  fill 
him  with  suspicion  and  jealousy. 

Those  are  some  of  the  obstacles  which  benevolence 
sought  to  overcome  ;  but  they  are  not  all.  Which  of  us 
has  not  listened  with  sensations  of  horror  to  the  nursery 
stories  that  are  told  of  the  Indian  and  his  cruelties  ?  In 
our  infant  mind,  he  stood  for  the  Moloch  of  our  country. 
We  have  been  made  to  hear  his  yell ;  and  to  our  eyes 
have  been  presented  his  tall,  gaunt  form,  with  the  skins  of 
beasts  dangling  round  his  limbs,  and  his  eyes  like  fire,  eager 
to  find  some  new  victim  on  which  to  fasten  himself,  and 
glut  his  appetite  for  blood.  We  have  been  made  to  see 
the  desperate  onset ;  to  hear  the  piercing  war-cry,  and  the 
clash  of  arms,  and  the  heavy,  dead  sound  of  the  war-club, 
as  it  fell  on  the  head  of  the  victim — and  then,  from  the 
midst  of  a  partial  stillness,  we  have  been  startled  by  the 
shrieks  of  the  dying  mother ;  and  hushed,  that  we  might 
hear  the  last  sigh  of  the  expiring  infant — and  then  we  have 
had  disclosed  to  us  the  scene  of  carnage ;  and  the  Indian 
striding  amidst  the  bodies  of  the  slain ;  or  beheld  him  seat- 
ed over  some  favorite  victim,  with  his  fingers  dripping  with 
blood,  and  his  face  disclosing  a  ferocious  smile,  as  he  en- 
joyed the  sight  of  the  quivering  limbs,  and  the  agonies  of 
the  dying ! 

And  thus  were  we,  on  our  part,  alienated  from  the  Indi- 

VOL.  i.  30 


234  MEMOIRS,  &c.,  &c. 

an;  and  it  was  natural  we  should  be — for  amidst  descrip- 
tions of  savage  barbarity  like  these,  it  was  not  to  be  ex- 
pected that  our  feelings  should  be  kind  towards  the  au- 
thors of  them.  There  was  no  time  left  us  then  to  tear 
ourselves  away  from  the  resentments  which  were  kindled 
in  our  bosoms,  to  inquire  into  the  great  moving  cause  of 
all  this  bloody  strife  ;  or  whether  these  butcheries  disclo- 
sed the  native  propensity  of  the  Indian,  or  were  the  out- 
breakings  of  savage  revenge,  in  retaliation  for  wrongs 
which  it  has  not  been  given  to  human  nature  patiently  to 
endure.  Had  it  been  given  to  us  to  know  what  we  now 
know,  whilst  our  infant  feelings  would  have  bled  over  the 
recital  of  those  Indian  cruelties,  inflicted  often  on  the  un- 
protected, and  unsuspecting,  and  unresisting,  and  deplored 
the  sacrifice  of  innocent  life,  we  must  have  indulged,  also, 
a  deep  sympathy  for  the  Indian. 

We  would  take  occasion  here,  in  connexion  with  our 
reference  to  the  Indian,  and  to  his  bloody  acts,  to  vindi- 
cate him  before  this  assembly,  from  any  imputation  that 
would  go  to  establish  cruelty  as  a  necessary  law  of  his  na- 
ture ;  or  any  other  feeling  which  we  do  not  possess  in 
common  with  him.  We  have  had  some  opportunities 
of  personally  inspecting  his  character,  and  amidst  his 
own  plains  and  mountains,  where  are  yet  left  to  him 
some  traces  of  the  original  domain,  and  where  the  face  of 
his  beautiful  country  has  not  yet  been  despoiled  of  its  for- 
ests. Wherever  we  found  him  not  yet  imbued  with  the 
vices  of  civilization — for  these  are  swift  to  reach  him,  and 
always  reach  him  first — we  found  a  being  hospitable,  kind, 
generous,  with  the  natural  affections,  warm  and  constant. 
In  his  hospitality  he  vied  with  the  most  refined ; — not,  it  is 
true,  in  the  extent,  or  variety,  or  nicety  of  his  accommo- 
dations— for  these,  alas !  are  always  forbidding  enough ; — 
but  in  the  promptings  of  the  heart,  and  the  freeness  with 
which  he  would  place  before  us  all  his  little  store  of  sup- 


MEMOIRS,  &c.,  &c.  235 

plies,  and  in  the  gratification  he  would  discover  when  he 
saw  his  offerings  accepted.  We  have  witnessed  some  rare 
examples  of  those  virtues  in  the  solitude  of  the  desert,  and 
never  without  feeling  an  anxious  desire  for  the  speedy  ar- 
rival of  the  period  that  should  bring  with  it  a  change  in 
the  condition  of  these  people. 

We  have  noticed  some  of  the  difficulties  with  which 
those  had  to  contend,  who  undertook,  in  the  earlier  peri- 
ods of  our  history,  to  reform  the  habits,  and  elevate  the 
condition  of  the  natives — many  of  these  exist  no  longer. 
The  forests,  (we  mean  those  within  our  States,)  and  their 
game,  are  gone.  The  Indian  can  no  longer  bury  himself 
in  the  one,  nor  subsist  on  the  other.  He  has  become  now 
a  creature  of  necessity — he  must  labor,  or  starve.  But  not 
only  are  the  forests  and  the  game  gone,  but  with  these  has 
disappeared  also  that  feeling  of  independence  which  once 
made  the  native  as  uncontrollable,  as  he  was  invincible. 
Long  and  nobly  did  he  struggle  to  maintain  this.  From 
the  days  of  Pontiac,  and  long  anterior  to  these,  although 
often  cut  to  pieces  in  their  wars,  and  reduced  in  numbers, 
did  this  proud  spirit  display  itself,  until  Tecumthe  fell. 
Pontiac  !  What  a  noble  specimen  of  man  existed  in  the 
person,  and  displayed  itself  in  the  acts  of  this  warrior- 
chief!  He  could  not  brook  the  idea  of  surrendering  his 
relations  to  the  French ;  and  to  which  he  and  his  bands 
had  become  reconciled,  if  not  attached.  So  soon,  there- 
fore, as  the  French  power  fell,  and  that  of  the  British  suc- 
ceeded, we  find  him  mustering  his  legions,  and  with  a 
spirit  and  enterprise  that  nothing  could  subdue,  and  a  skill 
equal  to  that  displayed  by  our  most  finished  tacticians, 
aiming  a  death-blow  at  the  newly  established  power.  As 
long  as  history  lasts,  so  long  will  the  siege  of  Detroit  be 
remembered,  and  Pontiac  ranked  amongst  the  most  skilful 
and  valiant  in  war.  A  like  spirit,  and  under  like  circum- 
stances, animated  Tecumthe.  His  partialities  wese  for 


236  MEMOIRS,  &c.,  &c. 

the  British,  and  his  skill  and  power  were  arrayed  against 
us.  He  sought,  by  a  skilful  combination  of  Indian  bands, 
from  the  lakes  to  the  Mississippi,  not  to  fortify  and  defend 
himself,  only,  but  by  a  sudden  and  simultaneous  stroke 
upon  our  borders,  to  regain  the  territory  of  his  people, 
and  reign  absolute, — not  as  monarch  of  his  forests,  only, 
but  as  lord,  also,  of  his  bands.  His  life  paid  the  forfeit  of 
the  gallant  enterprise ;  and  with  it  vanished  all  hopes  of 
all  allied  to  him,  of  ever  again  becoming  lords  of  their  do- 
main. Thus  fell  another  of  the  obstacles  in  the  way  of 
Indian  improvement. 

It  was  to  this  state  of  things  our  fathers  looked.  We 
have  found,  they  doubtless  said,  this  singular  being  to  be 
unmanageable ; — but  when  this  empire  shall  have  become 
established,  and  the  sceptre  of  freedom  be  swayed  over  its 
teeming  population,  then,  surely,  will  that  which  is  now 
literally  a  wilderness  to  the  Indian,  be  made  to  blossom  as 
the  rose ;  and  then  will  his  solitary  places  become  glad. 
No  longer  able  to  bury  himself  in  his  forests,  or  subsist  on 
their  game,  or  measure  strength  with  the  white  man,  he 
will  yield  to  necessity,  resort  to  the  earth  for  his  support, 
and  practice  gladly  those  lessons  which  are  at  present 
lost  upon  him.  Then  will  be  displayed  before  his  eyes, 
the  neat,  well-cultivated  farm,  and  the  flocks  covering  the 
pastures.  The  earth  will  pour  out  her  treasures  in  his 
very  presence.  He  will  imitate  all  he  sees.  The  wigwam 
will  be  made  to  give  place  to  the  cottage,  and  thrift  and 
comfort  succeed  to  improvidence  and  want.  Then  will  he 
and  the  white  man  be  one  in  feeling, — one  in  principles, — 
one  in  friendship, — one  in  the  enjoyment  of  the  same  hap- 
piness ;  and  they  will  be  seen  together  in  the  long  vista  of 
the  future,  brothers  in  the  arts  and  conveniences  of  culti- 
vated hfe.  Then,  too,  will  rise  into  her  high  distinction, 
and  shine  out  in  all  her  loveliness,  heaven's  best  gift  to 
man.  *  No  longer  will  woman  be  the  drudge  of  her  wilder- 


MEMOIRS,  &c.,  &c.  237 

ness  companion,  and  doomed  to  toil  in  abject  and  degra- 
ding servitude ; — for  the  more  man's  faculties  become  im- 
proved, and  the  more  he  can  analyze  his  relations  to  the 
things  of  earth,  and  the  things  of  heaven,  the  more  devo- 
tedly does  he  attach  himself  to  woman,  promote  her  com- 
forts, and  minister  to  her  happiness. 

This,  doubtless,  was  the  prospect  so  fondly  cherished 
by  our  fathers.  But,  alas !  what  has  experience  brought 
along  with  it  in  regard  to  all  these  matters  ?  How  little 
of  all  that  was  hoped  for,  has  been  realized !  True,  as 
was  anticipated,  many  of  those  obstacles  which  existed  in 
earlier  times,  and  which  opposed,  so  successfully,  the  la- 
bors of  our  fathers,  have  disappeared ;  but  these  have  been 
succeeded  by  circumstances  arising  out  of  the  peculiar  re- 
lations which  it  has  been  the  fate  of  the  Indian  to  have 
established  between  him  and  us,  far  more  perishing  in  their 
effects  upon  him,  than  were  those  earlier  difficulties  with 
which  our  fathers  had  to  contend.  What  these  circum- 
stances are,  may  be  inferred  from  the  sequel. 

Shall  we  stop  to  indulge  in  useless  lamentations  over 
what  has  been  done  ;  or  to  arraign  "  the  ways  of  Provi- 
dence to  man ;"  or  question  his  merciful  designs  in  peo- 
pling this  land  with  a  race  such  as  ours  ? — The  first  would 
be  useless,  and  the  last  impious.  This  country,  in  the 
plans  of  the  Eternal,  was  to  be  the  empire  of  freedom,  and 
of  mind.  Here,  in  the  purposes  of  infinite  wisdom,  it  was 
determined,  that  science,  and  the  arts,  and  religion,  should 
flourish,  and  man  attain,  untrammelled  by  despotism  or 
bigotry,  the  highest  state  of  perfection  and  happiness,  of 
which  his  nature  is  susceptible.  All  this  was  to  ber  and 
it  has  been.  Nor  were  any  of  the  consequences,  which 
have  attended  the  accomplishment  of  these  purposes,  un- 
foreseen by  Infinite  Wisdom,  even  to  those  which  have 
been  so  destructive  in  their  effects  upon  the  Indians.  But  it 
was  not  given  to  man  to  penetrate  the  mysterious  purpo- 
ses of  the  Infinite ;  we,  therefore,  resolve  all  this  into  those 


238  MEMOIRS,  &c.,  &c. 

inscrutable  dispensations,  which,  in  the  futurity,  we  may 
expect  to  see  revealed  in  all  their  godlike  forms. 

"  Blind  unbelief  is  sure  to  err, 

And  scan  his  work  in  vain ; 
God  is  his  own  interpreter, 

And  he  will  make  it  plain." 

But  for  any  part  we  may  have  taken,  as  willing  instru- 
ments in  producing,  or  not  taken,  in  preventing  the  mis- 
erable condition  of  the  Indians,  we  must  expect  to  be 
held  accountable.  Heaven,  we  doubt  not,  wills  the  happi- 
ness of  man.  '  Under  this  belief,  it  becomes  our  duty  to 
look  at  the  condition  of  the  Indian,  as  we  see  it ;  and,  it 
being  one  of  great  suffering,  and  degradation,  seek  for  the 
best  means  for  his  relief. 

Nothing,  we  think,  can  be  more  clear,  than  that  there 
has  been,  and  yet  is,  something  radically,  fatally,  wrong, 
in  the  system  of  our  relations  with  those  people.  We 
have  seen  that  zealous  efforts  were  made  in  times  past, 
and  with  what  effect,  to  reform  them.  And  our  own 
knowledge  of  those  of  later  times,  justifies  the  conclusion, 
that  it  has  been  a  favorite  design  of  our  government,  and 
a  large  portion  of  our  citizens,  to  improve  their  destiny. 
That  spirit  animates  the  councils  of  this  nation  at  this  mo- 
ment ;  and  is  more  extensively  felt  among  our  citizens 
than  at  any  other  period.  The  Father  of  his  Country  was 
scarcely  seated  in  the  chair  of  state,  before  he  fixed  a  kind 
and  constant  eye  upon  his  red  children.  He  counselled 
them  zealously,  and  with  a  wisdom  equalled  only  by  his 
benevolence.  These  counsels,  sustained  by  large  appro- 
priations of  money  to  make  them,  if  possible,  effective, 
have  been  continued  to  this  day,  by  every  succeeding 
President,  and  by  almost  every  Congress,  varying  only  in 
some  instances  as  to  the  course  which,  under  all  circum- 
stances, it  was  considered  best  for  the  Indian  to  pursue. 
But  the  great  object  has  been  the  same  in  all — to  make 
better,  and  not  worse,  his  condition.  Those  plans  of  im- 


MEMOIRS,  &c.,  &c.  239 

provement,  however,  could  never  have  contemplated  the 
carving  out  from  the  members  of  our  confederacy,  against 
their  will,  portions  of  their  territory,  on  which  to  erect 
separate  and  independent  Indian  states.  No  such  design 
could  have  been  meditated ;  and  apart  from  all  abstract 
reasoning  on  the  subject,  the  indications  of  late  years  may 
be  referred  to,  as  demonstrating  that  if  it  had  been,  it  was 
not  in  accordance  with  either  the  genius  of  our  institutions, 
or  the  prosperity  of  the  Indians.  And  it  may  be  assumed 
that  whatever  system  shall  not  harmonize  with  the  ac- 
knowledged principles  of  our  Union,  must  be  defective  ;  and 
to  suppose  that  any  weaker  power  could  withstand  their 
opposing  actions,  would  be  adverse,  not  only  to  our  con- 
ceptions of  the  high  bearing  of  our  system  upon  the  hopes 
and  the  destiny  of  man,  but  to  our  notions  of  the  relations 
of  power ;  and,  as  applicable  to  the  present  question,  al- 
together unreasonable.  As  well  might  it  be  assumed  as  a 
right  inherent  in  the  Senecas,  and  the  other  fragments  of 
tribes  of  this  state,  to  erect  themselves  into  one  or  more 
sovereignties,  and,  under  a  constitution  and  laws  of  their 
own,  exercise  the  corresponding  attributes,  and  thus  at- 
tempt the  invasion  of  the  sovereignty  of  this  state,  as  for 
the  same  right  to  be  argued  in  favor  of  any  one,  or  all  of 
the  fragments  of  tribes,  residing  within  the  jurisdiction  of 
the  states  in  the  south.  The  question  is  embarrassing ; 
but  the  bearing  of  it,  in  any  emergency  in  which  the  angry 
feelings  may  be  excited,  is  wholly  upon  the  Indians  ;  hence, 
the  constant  anxiety  which  has  manifested  itself  every- 
where, but  especially  in  our  government,  to  devise  some 
plan  that  should  maintain  the  harmony  of  our  beautiful 
system,  and  save  those  who,  from  the  peculiarity  of  their 
relations,  are  every  day  liable  to  come  into  collision  with 
it ;  and  from  the  fatal  consequences,  to  them,  of  such  an 
event. 

In  a  message  of  the  President  of  the  United  States  to 
Congress  in  1825,  may  be  seen  the  evidence  of  this  anxie- 


240  MEMOIRS,  &c.,  &c. 

ty.  "  Being  deeply  impressed,"  says  the  message,  "  with 
the  opinion  that  the  removal  of  the  Indian  tribes  from  the 
lands  which  they  now  occupy  within  the  limits  of  the  sev- 
eral States  and  Territories,  to  the  country  lying  westward 
and  northward  thereof,  within  our  acknowledged  bounda- 
ries, is  of  very  high  importance  to  our  Union,  and  may  be 
accomplished  on  conditions,  and  in  a  manner  to  promote 
the  interest  and  happiness  of  these  tribes,  the  attention  of 
the  government  has  been  long  drawn,  with  great  solicitude, 
to  the  subject."  Again,  "  experience  has  clearly  demon- 
strated, that  in  their  present  state,  it  is  impossible  to  incor- 
porate them  in  masses,  in  any  form  whatever,  into  our  sys- 
tem. It  has  also  demonstrated  with  equal  certainty,  that 
without  a  timely  anticipation  of,  and  provision  against 
the  dangers  to  which  they  are  exposed,  under  causes  which 
it  will  be  difficult,  if  not  impossible,  to  control,  their  degra- 
dation and  extermination  will  be  INEVITABLE  !" 

This  is  the  language  of  humanity,  dictated  by  wisdom 
and  experience.  It  appeals  to  the  understanding,  and 
comes  with  the  voice  of  warning  to  us  all ;  but  especially 
to  those  of  us  who  profess  to  be  friends  of  the  Indian,  and 
engaged  to  promote  the  welfare  of  his  race.  We  are  ad- 
monished to  beware,  and  not  permit  a  misguided  philan- 
thropy to  give  accelerated  force  to  those  causes  which 
have  been  so  long  warring  upon  the  happiness  and  lives 
of  this  people. 

That  men,  and  good  men,  should  differ  in  their  views  of 
what  ought  to  be  done  for  the  preservation  and  improve- 
ment of  our  Indians,  is  natural.  We  know  there  are  men, 
and  good  men,  who  are  opposed  to  the  emigration  of  the 
Indians.  We  respect  them,  and  their  motives.  They 
seek  to  save  and  civilize  these  people.  We  profess  to  aim 
at  the  accomplishment  of  the  same  end,  and  differ  only  as 
to  the  mode.  We  once  entertained  similar  views  of  this 
question  with  them,  and  thought  it  practicable  to  preserve 
and  elevate  the  character  of  our  Indians,  even  in  their 


MEMOIRS,  &c.,  &c.  241 

present  anomalous  relations  to  the  States;  but  it  was 
"distance  that  lent  this  enchantment  to  the  view ;"  we  have 
since  seen  for  ourselves,  and  that  which  before  looked  like 
a  flying  cloud,  we  found,  on  a  near  inspection,  to  be  an  im- 
passable mountain.  We  believe  if  the  Indians  do  not  emi- 
grate, and  fly  the  causes,  which  are  fixed  in  themselves, 
and  which  have  proved  so  destructive  in  the  past,  they 
must  perish !  We  might  distrust  our  own  conclusions, 
though  derived  from  personal  investigation,  did  not  expe- 
rience confirm  them.  But  alas !  it  is  the  admonition  of 
experience,  more  than  anything  else,  that  alarms,  and  urges 
us  to  employ  all  honorable  means  to  persuade  these  hap- 
less people  to  acquiesce  in  the  policy  which  is  proposed  to 
them.  Experience,  did  we  say  ?  Yes,  experience. 

Has  it  ever  occurred  to  this  assembly  to  reflect  upon  the 
period  when  this  island  was  a  wilderness  ?  when  it  was  the 
home  of  the  Indians  ?  when  nothing  was  heard  but  the 
growling  of  the  wolves  and  bears,  the  barking  of  foxes, 
and  the  yells  of  the  savage,  and  the  moaning  of  the  winds 
of  heaven  amidst  the  forest,  save  now  and  then,  in  a  mo- 
ment of  stillness,  the  twang  of  the  Indian's  bow,  as  he  sped 
the  arrow  into  some  animal  whose  fur  he  needed  to  make 
him  warm,  or  whose  flesh  he  sought  to  appease  his  hun- 
ger ?  Nothing  then  disturbed  the  waters  of  your  lordly 
Hudson  but  the  winds  of  heaven,  save  when  a  canoe  would 
cross  its  smooth  bosom,  and  then  the  sounds  were  confined 
to  the  plash  of  the  Indian's  paddle,  and  the  little  murmur 
at  the  prow  of  his  frail  vessel.  At  night,  who  can  fancy 
the  stillness  that  prevailed  ?  Then  was  there  nothing  of 
life  here,  that  we  call  life ;  it  was  all  the  silence  of  the 
desert.  The  Indian  was  monarch  here,  and  he  saw  no 
limits  to  his  kingdom.  Behold  the  change  !  And  where 
now  are  the  Indian  and  his  canoe  ?  They  are  gone  !  The 
one  retired  long  ere  your  temples  or  your  palaces  were 
erected,  or  remained  and  perished  under  the  influence  of 
those  vices  which  accompany  the  march  of  civilization ; 

VOL.   I.  31 


242  MEMOIRS,  &c.,  &c. 

the  other  waited  not  until  your  Hudson  was  put  in  a  foam 
by  your  ships,  but  fell  to  pieces  under  the  first  undulations 
of  your  opening  commerce.  True,  a  few  of  the  natives 
yet  linger  on  your  western  limits,  but  they  serve  to  attest 
the  truth  of  what  we  are  aiming  to  establish,  viz  :  the  per- 
ishing consequences  to  the  Indian,  of  a  near  connexion  with  a 
white  population.  What  are  the  remains  of  those  once 
powerful  tribes,  but  broken  columns,  mutilated  fragments, 
of  their  once  powerful  confederacy  ?  Look  at  them !  Who 
sees  any  likeness  in  what  is  left  to  the  Six  Nations  ?  Ev- 
ery vestige  is  gone !  The  race  of  the  Skenandoahs  is  ex- 
tinct !  What  was  it,  we  ask,  that  destroyed  the  Indians  of 
this  island,  and  sent  such  a  mildew,  to  exterminate  those  who 
yet  hang  upon  your  borders  ?  The  same  causes,  we  an- 
swer, that  have  reduced  the  once  countless  bands  that  in- 
habited Maine,  Massachusetts,  Rhode  Island,  Connecticut, 
Pennsylvania,  New  Jersey,  Maryland,  Virginia,  North  and 
South  Carolina,  to  a  few  over  six  thousand  souls ! 

In  Massachusetts,  the  great  theatre  of  benevolence, 
where  the  missionary  labors  have  been,  both  in  early  and 
later  times,  so  unceasing ;  and  where  the  spirit  of  kindness 
has  never  slumbered,  and  where  the  Indians,  themselves, 
built  churches  and  worshipped  in  them ;  and  where  the 
work  of  their  complete  reformation  appeared  so  nearly 
accomplished ;  and  where  there  was  as  much  to  cheer  the 
heart  of  the  philanthropist,  as  now  exists  in  the  most  im- 
proved of  the  present  day,  there  remain  only  about  seven 
hundred  and  fifty  souls !  Penn  was  never  suspected  of 
cherishing  unkind  purposes  towards  the  Indians,  nor  were 
his  descendants ;  yet  where  are  the  natives  of  that  district 
of  country  now  comprehended  in  the  state  of  Pennsylva- 
nia ?  And  where  are  the  bands  of  Jersey,  and  Delaware, 
and  Maryland  ?  All  gone.  And  where  the  once  power- 
ful and  numerous  bands  of  Virginia?  Where  the  descend- 
ants of  Powhatan  ?  Within  the  limits  of  that  vast  terri- 
tory, there  remain  but  forty -seven  Indians  !  The  plough, 


MEMOIRS,  &c.,  &c.  243 

it  is  true,  often  turns  up  the  stone  axes,  and  arrow-points, 
once  used  by  the  natives,  and  in  quantities  to  attest  how 
numerous  those  were  who  once  used  them.  These  are  all 
that  remain  now,  to  remind  the  traveller  in  Virginia,  that 
the  ground  over  which  he  rides,  was  once  alive  with  an 
Indian  population.  But  leave  the  Atlantic  States,  and  go 
into  the  west — go  to  Ohio — linger  among  the  tumuli  of 
that  great  country,  in  which  are  the  bones  of  so  many 
thousands  of  the  natives,  and  catch  the  echoes  of  the  war- 
whoop,  which  resound  through  all  the  valleys  ;  for  it  was 
but  yesterday  when  it  was  sounded ;  and  but  yesterday, 
when  the  Indian  exerted  his  power  in  triumph  over  all 
that  country.  Look  for  the  savage  bands.  Go  to  the 
banks  of  that  river  that  gives  name  to  the  State,  and  ask, 
where  are  the  canoes  that  used  to  float  down  its  tide,  so  fill- 
ed with  the  painted  natives.  One,  now  and  then,  perhaps, 
may  steal  in  silence  along  ;  and,  here  and  there,  upon  the 
lands  of  their  fathers,  and  clinging  to  the  soil  that  covers 
their  bones,  you  will  find  a  few  remaining ; — but  of  all  who 
once  occupied  that  State,  there  remain,  at  present,  but  a 
few  over  two  thousand.  Here,  then,  is  our  experience  ; 
and,  from  it,  we  deduce  the  inference,  that,  whilst  the  In- 
dians retain  their  present  degraded  relations  to  us,  inhab- 
iting a  State,  but  excluded  from  all  that  is  honorable  in  it, 
and  even  from  the  hope  of  any  elevation  of  character  and 
privileges  in  the  future,  he  must  deteriorate  and  go  to  de- 
cay ;  for  there  lives  not  a  man,  who  is  insensible  to  con- 
tempt and  disgrace :  and  the  more  men  become  enlight- 
ened, to  see  the  disparaging  nature  of  the  relations  they 
bear  to  those  around  them,  the  more  afflictive  are  those 
relations  felt  to  be.  It  is  important  to  provide  different 
relations,  if  only  for  the  one  thousand  three  hundred  In- 
dian youths,  who  are  at  this  moment  enjoying  the  benefits 
of  education  ;  for  to  expect  the  Indians,  circumstanced  as 
they  are,  to  advance  and  flourish  as  men  and  Christians,  is 


244  MEMOIRS,   &c.,  &c. 

to  expect  more  of  them  than  we  should  feel  authorized  to 
hope  for,  even  of  ourselves. 

Under  the  operation  of  moral  causes,  does  man  rise  or 
fall,  in  the  scale  of  being  ?  The  whole  mass  of  these,  is 
against  the  Indian.  Shut  out  from  all  participation  in  those 
ennobling  connexions  and  pursuits,  which  give  ardor  to 
hope,  and  "  fix  the  generous  purpose  in  the  glowing  breast," 
— why  should  we  be  surprised  to  find  the  Indian  just  such 
a  being  as  he  is  ?  or  doubt  the  fatal  tendencies  and  ter- 
mination of  such  a  state  of  things  ?  We  confess,  we  trem- 
ble for  the  consequences,  and  feel,  that  if  we  are  right, 
those  who  may  have  counselled  the  Indians  to  remain 
where  they  are,  and  in  opposition  to  the  kind  designs  of 
the  government  towards  them,  have  assumed  a  tremendous 
responsibility ! 

We  esteem  it  to  be  our  duty  on  this  occasion  to  cor- 
rect an  error  which  has  obtained  in  regard  to  this  business 
of  emigration.  It  seems  to  be  thought  by  some,  that  the 
Indians  are  opposed  to  removal;  and  that  force  is  me- 
ditated to  be  employed  to  compel  them  to  go.  In  regard 
to  the  disposition  of  the  great  body  of  the  Indians  within 
our  States,  we  speak  advisedly  when  we  say,  they  are 
anxious  to  remove.  The  present  excitement  is  occasioned, 
in  great  part,  by  the  opposition  of  those  persons,  whose 
interest  it  is  to  keep  the  Indians  where  they  are.  Protection 
has  actually  been  sought  of  the  government  by  those  who 
wish  to  better  their  destiny,  against  the  threats  of  others, 
in  which  an  enrolment  for  emigration  has  been  forbidden  on 
pain  of  death !  This  may  be  received  as  the  real  state  of 
the  case,  obtained  in  good  part  by  us,  on  personal  oppor- 
tunities, and  from  official  information  confirming  our  ob- 
servation and  experience.  In  regard  to  the  employment 
of  force  to  drive  the  Indians  from  the  country  they  inhabit, 
so  far  from  this  being  correct,  they  have  been  told  by  the 
Executive,  in  one  of  the  documents  read  to  you  to-night, 
that  if  they  choose  to  remain,  they  shall  be  protected  in 


MEMOIRS,  &c.,  &c.  245 

all  their  rights  ;*  but  they  are  advised  to  remove,  for  rea- 
sons relating  wholly  to  themselves.  Is  there  anything  in 
this  that  looks  like  hostility  to  this  people?  There  is 
nothing  of  cruelty  cherished  either  by  our  government  or 
people  towards  the  Indians.  The  only  point  in  contro- 
versy at  present,  is  that  which  divides  those  who  differ  on 
the  question  of  emigration.  And  surely  this  difference 
may  be  permitted  without  involving  those  of  us  who  think 
the  salvation  of  the  Indians  depends  on  a  change  of  their 
relations  to  us,  (and  which  cannot  be  realized,  as  we  firm- 
ly believe,  but  on  the  basis  of  a  removal,)  in  the  charge 
of  meditating  evil,  or  cherishing  a  spirit  of  vindictiveness 
against  this  hapless  race  ! 

But  it  may  be  expected  of  us  to  state  the  terms  on 
which  we  propose  the  removal. 

It  is  proposed,  in  the  first  place,  to  give  them  a  country, 
and  to  secure  it  to  them  by  the  most  ample  and  solemn 
sanctions,  suitable  in  all  respects,  in  exchange  for  theirs ; 
to  pay  them  for  all  their  improvements — and  see  them, 
free  of  cost,  to  their  new  homes — to  aid  them  after  their 
arrival  there — and  protect  them; — to  put  over  them,  at 
once,  the  frame-work  of  a  government,  and  to  fill  this  up 
as  their  advancement  in  civilization  may  require  it ;  to  se- 
cure them  the  privilege  of  participating  in  it ;  to  establish 
schools  over  their  country,  for  the  enlightening  of  the 
rising  generation  ;  and  give  them  the  Gospel.  In  fine,  it 
is  proposed  to  place  them  in  a  Territorial  relation  to  us,  and 
in  all  respects ;  and  in  the  enjoyment  of  all  the  privileges 
consequent  upon  such  a  relation,  civil,  political  and  reli- 
gious. Thus  will  they  attain  an  elevation,  to  which,  in 
their  present  relations,  they  can  never  aspire.  And  thus 
would  new  influences  be  created,  ennobling  in  their  ten- 
dencies, and  animating  in  their  effects.  Under  these,  the 

*  Unfortunately  for  the  honor  and  humanity  of  the  nation,  this  "  protection" 
was  shortly  after  not  only  virtually  withdrawn,  but  force  was  employed  to  com- 
pel the  Indians  to  leave  their  country ! 


246  MEMOIRS,   &c.,  &c. 

Indian  would  rise  into  the  distinction  to  which  he  has 
always  been  a  stranger  ;  and  live  and  act  with  reference  to 
the  corresponding  honors  and  benefits  of  such  a  state. 

We  have  in  the  United  States,  about  three  hundred 
thousand  Indians,  about  seventy  thousand  of  whom,  it  is 
proposed  to  advance  at  once,  into  this  state  of  exalted 
privileges.  The  country  on  wliich  it  is  proposed  to  settle 
these,  is  immediately  beyond,  and  west  of  Missouri  and 
Arkansas.  It  is  believed  to  be  unexceptionable  in  extent, 
and  soil,  and  salubrity.  Our  information  is  derived  from 
actual  surveys  which  have  been  made  of  it. 

Were  the  Indians  present,  we  would  address  them 
thus : — 

Brothers — We  doubt  not  your  sincere  attachment  to  the 
country  in  which  you  live.  Some  of  you  believe  you  have 
a  sovereign  right  over  all  within  the  limits  designated  for 
your  occupancy.  And  suppose  there  was  no  dispute  on 
this  point,  would  you  linger  and  die  on  it  merely  for  that 
reason  ?  Do  you  not  see  the  degrading  nature  of  the  rela- 
tion in  which  you  stand  to  the  whites  ?  Do  you  not  feel 
how  perishing  it  is  to  you?  Are  you  not  aliens — and 
even  worse,  though  living  in  the  heart  of  the  country  ? 
Has  not  this  anomalous  relation  destroyed  hundreds  of 
thousands  of  your  race ;  and  unpeopled  whole  states  of 
those  of  whom  you  are  descended  ?  Do  you  expect  that 
you  can  escape  a  similar  destruction — unless  you  fly  from 
the  causes  which  have  heretofore  proved  so  fatal  ?  Do  you 
not  look  in  utter  hopelessness  on  the  destiny  of  your  chil- 
dren? 

Brothers — Whether  is  it  wise  in  you  thus  to  linger  out 
a  chafed,  and  impoverished,  and  disheartening  existence, 
and  die  as  your  fathers  have  died,  and  leave  the  same  des- 
tiny to  your  children ;  or  to  leave  your  country,  and  the 
bones  of  your  fathers,  (which  cannot  benefit  you,  stay 
where  they  are  as  long  as  you  may,)  and  go  to  one  where 
none  of  those  perishing  influences  will  be  permitted  to  ex- 


MEMOIRS,   &c.,  &c.  247 

ist,  and  where  upon  you  and  your  posterity  shall  be  en- 
tailed all  that  is  valuable  in  government,  all  that  is  exalted 
in  privileges,  and  all  that  is  refined  in  happiness  ? 

Brothers — Be  not  deluded, — nor  think  us  your  enemy 
because  we  seek  to  advance  your  happiness.  Listen  to 
our  voice.  We  have  long  felt  for  your  sad  condition,  and 
mourned  over  it.  Listen  to  us,  and  be  advised.  Yield  up 
your  prejudices.  Try  us  this  once.  Do  not  distrust  our 
object ;  it  is  your  welfare,  only,  we  seek. 

But  they  are  not  present,  and  our  voice  is  not  heard ;  or 
if  it  were,  the  counsel  it  conveys,  especially  in  the  moment 
of  excitement  that  prevails  now,  might  be  lost.  But  it  is 
pleasant  to  know  that  we  have  done  our  duty.  This  con- 
sciousness, gentlemen,  must,  on  an  occasion  like  the  pres- 
ent, be  extremely  grateful  to  you.  We  have  witnessed 
your  solicitude  to  save  these  hapless  people;  we  have 
seen,  and  do  highly  appreciate  your  labors.  We  know 
your  motive,  and  pronounce  it  pure.  Like  men  zealous 
for  the  attainment  of  a  great  object,  you  have  risen  above 
the  influences  of  political  and  sectarian  feelings,  and  ap- 
preciating the  importance  of  the  work  to  be  accomplished, 
and  seeing  it  involves  human  happiness,  and  human  life, 
you  have  given  the  invitation  to  all  to  unite  with  you  in 
saving  these  people.  You  see,  and  truly,  that  the  experi- 
ments of  the  past  will  not  do  to  be  further  relied  on,  and 
you  have  adopted  the  only  remaining  alternative.  You 
have  thought  well  of  this  matter,  and  examined  it  with 
your  accustomed  energies  of  thought  and  action.  Your 
conclusion  is,  that  unless  the  Indians  can  be  prevailed  on 
to  remove,  and  place  themselves  under  the  redeeming  in- 
fluences which  you  are  ready,  in  their  behalf,  to  see  faith- 
fully applied,  they  must  perish.  This  conclusion  has  brought 
you  together  in  the  ardor  of  friendship,  and  with  the  hope 
of  Christians ;  and  you  have  associated,  and  now  stand 
pledged  to  the  world,  and  to  heaven,  to  exert  your  best 
energies  for  the  "  emigration,  preservation,  and  improve- 


248  MEMOIRS,  &c.,  &c. 

ment  of  the  Indians."  We  wish  you,  in  a  work  so  noble, 
and  over  which  mercy  will  delight  to  preside,  and  on  which 
you  may  with  so  much  confidence  implore  the  blessings  of 
heaven,  the  most  abundant  success. 


To  Colonel  McKenney. 

NEW  YORK,  August,  1829. 

DEAR  SIR — Permit  me,  through  you,  to  communicate  to  the  distinguished  in- 
dividuals therein  named,  the  following  resolution  of  the  Indian  Board,  &c.,  passed 
at  their  last  meeting,  viz : 

"  Resolved,  That  the  thanks  of  this  Board  be  transmitted  to  the  President  of  the 
United  States,  and  the  Secretary  of  War,  for  their  prompt  compliance  with  the 
wishes  of  this  Association,  as  conveyed  in  a  letter  addressed  to  the  department, 
by  the  Rev.  Eli  Baldwin,  soliciting  the  aid  of  Colonel  McKenney,  in  the  business 
which  has  engaged  its  attentions." 

Allow  me  further  to  address  to  you  personally,  the  following  resolution,  passed 
at  the  same  time  : 

"  Resolved,  That  the  thanks  of  this  Board  be  presented  to  Colonel  McKenney, 
for  his  very  eloquent  address,  delivered  on  the  evening  of  the  12th  instant;  and 
that  a  copy  of  the  same  be  requested  for  publication." 

And  to  assure  you  of  my  hearty  concurrence  in  the  expression  of  gratitude,  and 
in  the  request, 

I  am,  dear  Sir,  very  respectfully,  yours, 

ELI  BALDWIN,  Cor.  Sec'y. 

To  the  Rev.  Eli  Baldwin,  Corresponding  Secretary,  tyc. 

NEW  YORK,  August  17,  1829. 

DEAR  SIR — I  have  received  your  letter  of  this  date,  embodying  two  resolutions 
of  your  Board.  I  will  take  great  pleasure  in  conveying  the  first  to  the  President 
and  Secretary  of  War,  who  will,  I  am  sure,  duly  appreciate  the  expression  of  the 
thanks  of  the  Board  in  the  matter  referred  to. 

I  am  gratified  that  the  Address  delivered  by  me,  in  pursuance  of  a  resolution 
of  your  Board,  is  acceptable  to  you ;  and  highly  appreciate  the  thanks  of  the 
Board,  as  conveyed  in  the  second  resolution  of  the  same.  The  request  for  a 
copy  for  publication  is  complied  with. 

With  my  best  wishes  for  the  success  of  your  Board  in  the  noble  object  which 
engages  its  attentions,  and  for  your  individual  prosperity  and  happiness, 
I  am,  dear  Sir,  yours,  most  truly, 

THOMAS  L.  MCKENNEY. 


To  the  President  of  the  United  States. 

NEW  YORK,  August  14,  1829. 
SIR — The  condition  of  the  Indian  tribes,  and  their  present  relations  to  the  gen- 


MEMOIRS,   &c.,  &c.  249 

eral  and  state  governments,  have  occasioned,  among  the  friends  of  these  interest- 
ing people,  feelings  of  deep  anxiety ;  and  awakened  a  disposition,  among  various 
citizens  of  the  Union,  to  harmonize,  if  possible,  the  present  discordant  relations, 
and  in  a  way  that  shall  secure  to  the  Indians  peace  and  prosperity  for  the  future. 
Participating  in  this  common  feeling,  an  Association  of  citizens  of  various  de- 
nominations has  been  formed,  with  the  view  of  contributing  to  ends  so  important. 

The  principles  on  which  this  Association  proposes  to  act  and  be  governed,  are 
disclosed  in  the  accompanying  documents,  which  embrace  the  preliminary  pro- 
ceedings, the  origin  of  the  Association,  and  the  Constitution  of  the  Board. 

By  a  resolution  therein,  you  will  perceive  that  it  is  made  my  duty  to  communi- 
cate for  the  information,  and  with  a  view  to  obtain  the  approbation  and  co-opera- 
tion of  the  Executive,  a  copy  of  those  proceedings  to  you. 

The  Board  looks  with  confidence  to  the  Executive  of  the  United  States  for 
such  patronage  as  it  may  have  the  power  to  bestow ;  and  with  deep  anxiety  to 
the  Congress,  to  whom  it  doubts  not  the  Executive  will  submit  the  subject  for 
those  ways  and  means  upon  which  reliance  is  placed  for  the  promotion  of  its  be- 
nevolent intentions. 

I  am,  most  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

ELI  BALDWIN, 
Corresponding  Secretary  of  the  Indian  Board,  &c. 


To  the  Rev.  Eli  Baldwin. 

RIP  RAPS,  VIRGINIA,  August  25,  1829. 

SIR — Last  evening,  by  the  steamboat  Norfolk,  from  Baltimore,  your  letter  to 
the  President  was  received  at  this  place,  with  a  transcript  of  the  Constitution,  re- 
lating to  the  Indians,  recently  adopted  at  New  York  by  your  Convention.  With 
the  course  pursued  at  your  meeting,  the  President  is  much  gratified,  and  desires 
me  so  to  declare  to  you.  He  cannot  but  appreciate  highly  the  views  taken  by 
you  of  a  course  of  policy,  which  justice  to  principles  recognized,  and  humanity 
towards  our  Indian  brethren,  constrained  him,  as  a  matter  of  conceived  duty,  to 
adopt.  He  regrets  that  so  many  inaccuracies,  both  as  to  object  and  motive, 
should  have  found  a  place  in  the  public  journals  of  the  day,  evidently  misrepre- 
senting, and  calculated  to  produce  incorrect  impressions.  The  great  consolation 
entertained  by  him,  though,  is,  that  time  will  prove  that  his  only  end,  and  object, 
and  purpose,  is  to  do  full  and  impartial  justice,  to  the  extent  that  his  official  dis- 
charge of  duty  will  sanction. 

I  BEG  LEAVE  TO  ASSURE  YOU,  THAT  NOTHING  OF  A  COMPULSORY  COURSE,  TO  EF- 
FECT THE  REMOVAL  OF  THE  UNFORTUNATE  RACE  OF  PEOPLE,  EVER  HAS  BEEN  THOUGHT 

OF  BY  THE  PRESIDENT,  ALTHOUGH  IT  HAS  BEEN  ASSERTED.  The  considerations 
which  controlled,  in  the  course  pursued,  were  such,  as  he  really  and  in  fact  be- 
lieved were  required,  as  well  by  a  regard  for  the  just  rights  which  the  State  of 
Georgia  was  authorized  to  assert,  as  from  a  conscientious  conviction,  that  by  it, 
humanity  towards  the  Indians  would  more  effectually  be  subserved.  Of  this  they 
have  been  assured,  and  in  that  assurance,  no  other  disposition  was  had  than  to 
explain  fully  to  them,  and  the  country,  the  actual  ground  on  which  it  was  be- 
lieved they  were  rightfully  entitled  to  stand. 
VOL.  i.  32 


250  MEMOIRS,  dec.,  &c. 

How  can  the  United  States  government  contest  with  Georgia  the  authority  to 
regulate  her  own  internal  affairs  ?  If  the  doctrine  everywhere  maintained  be 
true,  that  a  State  is  sovereign,  so  far  as  by  the  constitution  adopted  it  has  not 
been  parted  with  to  the  general  government,  then  must  it  follow  as  matter  of 
certainty,  that  within  the  limits  of  a  State  there  can  be  none  other,  than  her  own 
sovereign  power,  that  can  claim  to  exercise  the  functions  of  government.  It  is 
certainly  contrary  to  every  idea  entertained  of  an  independent  government,  for 
any  other  to  assert  adverse  dominion  and  authority,  within  her  jurisdictional 
limits :  they  are  things  that  cannot  exist  together. 

Between  the  State  of  Georgia  and  the  Indian  tribes  within  her  limits,  no  com- 
pact or  agreement  was  ever  entered  into ; — who  then  is  to  yield,  for  it  is  certain, 
in  the  ordinary  course  of  exercised  authority,  that  one  or  the  other  must  ?  The 
answer  heretofore  presented  from  the  government,  and  which  you,  by  your  adop- 
tion, have  sanctioned  as  correct,  is  the  only  one  that  can  be  offered.  Georgia,  by 
her  acknowledged  confederative  authority,  may  legally  and  rightfully  govern  and 
control  throughout  her  own  limits,  or  else  our  knowledge  of  the  science  and  prin- 
ciple of  government,  as  they  relate  to  our  own  forms,  are  wrong,  and  have  been 
wholly  misunderstood. 

Sympathy  indulged  is  a  noble  and  generous  trait  of  character ;  but  should  never 
assume  a  form  calculated  to  outrage  settled  principles,  or  to  produce  in  the  end  a 
greater  evil  than  it  would  remedy.  Admit  it  were  in  the  disposition  of  the  go- 
vernment at  Washington  to  hold  a  course  and  language  different  from  that  they 
have  heretofore  employed  ;  and  to  encourage  the  Indians  to  the  belief  that  right- 
fully they  may  remain  and  exercise  civil  government  in  despite  of  Georgia  ?  do 
those  who  are  the  advocates  of  such  a  course,  and  consider  it  reconcilable  to  pro- 
priety, dream  of  the  consequences  to  which  it  would  lead,  or  consider  after  what 
manner  so  strange  an  idea  could  be  put  in  practice  ?  Have  they  looked  to  the 
State  of  Georgia,  conscious  in  the  rectitude  of  her  own  construction  of  right,  de- 
manding of  the  United  States  their  constitutional  authority  to  interfere,  and  ap- 
pealing to  the  States  to  sustain  her  against  encroachments,  which,  if  submitted 
to,  might,  in  the  end,  prove  destructive  of  the  whole  ?  If  nothing  else  can  be 
traced  through  such  an  appeal  and  in  such  an  issue,  I  think  the  good  and  the  hu- 
mane may  at  least  perceive  that  in  it  peril  is  to  be  discerned,  and  that  the  weak 
and  undisciplined  Indians,  in  such  a  contest,  would  be  so  utterly  destroyed,  that 
the  places  which  now  know  them,  would  presently  know  them  no  more. 

From  the  conversations  had  with  the  President,  recently  and  formerly,  on  the 
subject  of  the  Indians,  I  am  satisfied  that  no  man  in  the  country  entertains 
towards  them  better  feelings,  or  has  a  stronger  desire  to  see  them  placed  in  that 
condition  which  may  conduce  to  their  advancement  and  happiness.  But  to  en- 
courage them  to  the  idea,  that  within  the  confines  of  a  State,  they  may  exercise 
all  the  forms  and  requisites  of  a  government,  fashioned  to  their  own  condition  and 
necessities,  he  does  not  consider  can  be  advantageous  to  them,  or  that  the  ex- 
ercise of  such  a  right  can  properly  be  conceded.  What  would  the  authorities  of 
the  State  of  New  York  say  to  an  attempt,  on  the  part  of  the  Six  Nations,  to  es- 
tablish, within  her  limits,  a  separate  and  independent  government ;  and  yet  their 
authority,  to  do  so,  would  be  as  undeniable  as  that  of  the  Creeks,  or  Cherokees, 
within  the  territory  of  Georgia,  or  Alabama  ?  Would  they  agree,  that  the  Indi- 
an law  of  retaliation  on  the  next  of  kin,  should  be  enforced  for  the  accidental  kill- 


MEMOIRS,  &c.,  &c.  251 

ing  of  one  of  their  tribe  ?  Or,  that  nothing  of  trade  and  commerce,  by  her  citi- 
zens, should  take  place  within  their  limits,  except  in  conformity  to  the  provisions 
of  their  muncipal  code  ?  Would  they  assent  to  have  their  citizens  rendered 
liable  to  be  arraigned  at  the  bar  of  an  Indian  court  of  justice,  and  to  have  meted 
out  to  them  the  penalties  of  their  criminal  code  ?  It  is  obvious,  that  no  State  of 
this  Union  would  grant  such  authority.  'Concede,  however,  that  these  Indians 
are  entitled  to  be  considered  sovereign  within  their  own  limits,  and  you  concede 
everything  else  as  matter  of  consequence.  Admit  the  principle,  and  all  is  admit- 
ted— and  what  then  ?  The  sword,  the  alone  arbiter  in  any  community,  where 
questions  of  adverse  sovereignty  and  power  are  to  be  settled,  would,  in  the  end, 
have  to  be  appealed  to :  and,  when  this  shall  be  the  case,  the  humblest  prophet  in 
our  land  cannot  but  discern  what  will  be  the  finale  of  the  contest.  Is  it  not  pre- 
ferable, and  does  not  their  own  peace,  and  quiet,  and  happiness,  demand,  that 
they  should  surrender,  at  once,  such  visionary  opinions,  and,  by  retiring  beyond 
the  Mississippi,  place  themselves  where  every  conflict,  as  to  State  authority,  will 
cease ;  and  where  the  most  enlarged  and  generous  efforts,  by  the  government, 
will  be  made  to  improve  their  minds,  better  their  condition,  and  aid  them  in  their 
efforts  of  self-government  ?  For  your  efforts,  and  those  associated  with  you  in 
convention,  furthering  this  liberal  and  only  practical  scheme,  the  time  will  come 
when  all  good  and  generous  men  will  thank  you. 

In  conclusion,  the  President  desires  me  to  thank  you  for  the  communication 
made  to  him,  and  to  offer  you  an  assurance,  that  every  legitimate  power  of  his, 
will  be  freely  bestowed  to  further  and  assist  the  laudable  and  humane  course 
which  your  convention  has  adopted. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  with  great  respect, 

Your  obedient  servant, 

JOHN  H.  EATON. 

This  item  of  history  may  serve  to  indicate  the  spirit  that 
was  at  that  time  alive,  and  active,  for  the  enlightening  and 
preservation  of  the  Indians ;  also  the  basis  upon  which  it 
proposed  to  operate.  It  looked  to  a  rescue  of  this  hap- 
less people,  by  the  agency  of  pacific  and  friendly  influ- 
ences, from  the  unhappy  and  perishing  condition  in  which 
their  residence  within  the  jurisdiction  of  States  had  pla- 
ced them.  Those  who  had  been  moved  to  undertake,  and 
carry  out  this  work  of  mercy,  held  high  rank  as  men  of 
influence,  and  Christians — and  the  undertaking  was  wholly 
free  from  anything  personal,  sectarian,  or  selfish.  It  is 
only  necessary  for  the  reader  to  look  over  the  names  of 
members  who  compose  this  society,  from  that  pure  patriot 
and  philanthropist,  Hon.  S.  Van  Rensselaer,  the  president, 
to  its  secretary  and  treasurer,  to  see  proof  positive,  that 


252  MEMOIRS,   &c.,  &c. 

the  principles  of  the  society  were  not  only  sound,  but  that 
there  was  intelligence  and  influence,  and  a  power  over  the 
necessary  means,  sufficient  to  carry  out  their  kind  designs, 
provided  the  government  would  co-operate  in  the  same 
spirit,  and  with  a  view  to  the  same  ends.  And  that  pledge 
was  given,  and  reiterated  in  Mr.  Secretary  Eaton's  letter 
to  the  corresponding  secretary,  as  above,  in  which  the  as- 
surance was  unequivocally  given,  that  "  nothing  of  a  com- 
pulsory course,  to  effect  the  removal  of  this  unfortunate 
race  of  people,  has  ever  been  thought  of  by  the  Presi- 
dent." 

There  would  seem,  therefore,  to  have  been  perfect  har- 
mony between  the  Executive,  and  the  objects  of  this 
Board,  and  this  is  declared  by  the  Secretary,  in  the  letter 
aforesaid,  in  express  terms.  "  With  the  course  pursued 
at  your  meeting,"  says  the  Secretary,  "  the  President  is 
much  gratified."  As  for  myself,  I  never  contemplated  any 
act  touching  the  emigration  of  the  Indians,  that  should  not 
have  for  its  object,  first,  their  voluntary  acquiescence  ; 
and,  second,  the  immediate  adoption  of  the  appropriate 
measures  for  their  improvement  and  happiness,  and  posi- 
tive security  in  all  the  future,  against  a  recurrence  of  the 
evils  from  which  I  sought  to  separate  them. 

The  reader  may  feel  anxious  to  know  what  were  the 
fruits  of  the  association,  organized  for  these  holy  objects, 
and  under  such  high  auspices.  I  answer,  there  were  none  ! 
So  far  as  my  knowledge  extends,  there  went  forth  from 
that  Board  not  a  single  influence  towards  the  accomplish- 
ment of  the  great  ends  of  its  creation.  It  had  being  given 
to  it,  and  life,  but  it  was  struck  by  paralysis  !  I  never 
heard  the  cause  for  this  assigned,  either  by  the  Board,  or 
by  any  member  thereof,  but  was  at  no  loss  myself  to  ac- 
count for  it.  It  was  in  the  abandonment  by  the  adminis- 
tration, not  long  after  the  organization  of  the  Board,  of  the 
fundamental  principle  of  its  existence,  viz  :  the  operation, 


MEMOIRS,  &c.,  &c.  253 

upon  the  Indians,  by  a  policy  that  excluded  everything 
like  compulsion — both  direct  and  indirect. 

The  fourth  article  of  the  constitution  of  the  Board  bound 
it  "  to  co-operate  with  the  federal  government  of  the  Uni- 
ted States,  in  its  operations  cm  Indian  affairs ;  and  at  no 
time  to  contravene  its  laws."  The  letter  of  the  Secretary 
of  War,  Major  Eaton,  of  the  18th  April,  1829,  to  the  del- 
egation of  Cherokees,  then  in  Washington,  was  before  the 
committee  when  the  constitution  of  the  Board  was  adopted, 
and  was  read  to  the  assembly  of  the  people,  when  it  was 
ratified.  In  that  letter  he  says,  "  An  interference  to  the 
extent  of  affording  you  protection,  and  the  occupancy  of 
your  soil,  is  what  is  demanded  of  the  justice  of  this  country, 
and  will  not  be  withheld"  This  was  the  guarantee, as  well 
to  the  Cherokees  as  to  the  Board,  that  the  quiet,  at  least, 
of  this  people  would  be  preserved,  during  which,  it  was 
contemplated  to  operate  by  judicious  and  enlightened 
agencies,  in  convincing  the  Indians  that  it  was  better  for 
their  present  and  future  happiness,  to  make  terms,  and  ac- 
cept a  home  where  all  things  would  be  peaceful,  and  where 
the  Indian  Board  was  pledged,  as  well  as  the  government, 
to  follow  them  with  all  the  means  necessary  for  their  ad- 
vancement, and  security,  and  happiness.  Upon  this  branch 
of  the  question,  the  same  letter  that  promised  "  protec- 
tion," and  "  the  occupancy  of  their  soil,"  contained  the  fol- 
lowing appeal  to  the  Indians :  "  It  must  be  obvious  to 
you,  and  the  President  has  instructed  me  to  bring  it  to 
your  candid  and  serious  consideration,  that  to  continue 
where  you  are,  within  the  territorial  limits  of  an  indepen- 
dent State,  can  promise  you  nothing  but  INTERRUPTION 
and  DISQUIETUDE.  Beyond  the  Mississippi,  your  pros- 
pects will  be  different.  There  you  will  find  no  conflicting 
interests.  The  United  States'  power  and  sovereignty,  un- 
controlled by  the  high  authority  of  State  jurisdiction,  and 
resting  on  its  own  energies,  will  be  able  to  say  to  you,  in 


254  MEMOIRS,   &c.,  &c. 

the  language  of  your  own  nation, — the  soil  shall  be  yours 
while  the  trees  grow,  or  the  streams  run" 

These  two  quotations  from  the  letter  of  the  Secretary 
of  War  contained  all  of  what  the  Cherokees,  and  other 
Indians  similarly  situated,  ^fcid  to  hope  for.  Under  the 
first,  while  in  a  state  of  "protection"  though  they  should 
have  nothing,  under  that  panoply,  but "  INTERRUPTION  and 
DISQUIETUDE"  where  they  were,  the  Board  saw  it  could 
operate ;  and  employing  this  very  state  of  "  disquietude  and 
interruption"  as  an  argument,  convince  these  harrassed  peo- 
ple that  it  would  be  indeed  better  for  them  to  escape  from 
these  evils,  to  where  "  the  United  States'  power  and  sov- 
ereignty, uncontrolled  by  the  high  authority  of  State  ju- 
risdiction," could  be  exercised  for  their  permanent  welfare ; 
and  where,  as  was  held  out  in  another  part  of  the  same 
letter,  "  the  government  of  the  United  States  will  be  able 
to  exercise  over  them  a  paternal  and  superintending  care, 
to  happier  advantage ;  to  stay  encroachments,  and  preserve 
them  in  peace  and  amity  with  each  other ;  while,  with  the 
aid  of  schools,  a  hope  may  be  indulged,  that  ere  long,  in- 
dustry and  refinement  will  take  the  place  of  those  wander- 
ing habits  now  so  peculiar  to  the  Indian  character,  the 
tendency  of  which  is  to  impede  them  in  their  march  to 
civilization." 

The  moment  it  became  manifest  that  "protection"  was 
not  to  be  extended  to  them,  but  that  a  system  of  encroach- 
ments upon  their  lands,  and  upon  their  vested  rights,  would 
be  tolerated,  even  to  the  driving  from  their  own  home  the 
wife  and  children  of  the  Cherokee  chief,  who  were  forced 
to  build  a  shelter  with  branches  of  trees,  in  the  woods ; 
and  on  his  return  to  it,  (the  Georgia  guard,  as  it  was 
called,  yet  holding  possession,)  the  chief  himself  was  re- 
fused corn  from  his  own  crib,  to  feed  his  own  horse,  and 
food  from  his  own  larder,  to  feed  himself,  unless  he 
should  pay  for  both ; — I  say,  the  moment  it  became 
manifest  that  elements  of  this  oppressive  sort  were  to  be 


MEMOIRS,   &c.,  &c.  255 

employed  by  those  who  sought  to  possess  themselves  of 
the  Indians'  domain,  and  that  the  general  government  was 
prepared  to  allow  them,  storm-like,  to  beat  upon  this  har- 
rassed  people — the  ground  on  which  the  Board  had  rested 
their  hope,  gave  way,  and  wit* it,  all  their  plans  and  pur- 
poses. It  being  an  article  in  its  constitution  "  to  co-ope- 
rate with  the  federal  government  of  the  United  States  in 
its  operation  on  Indian  affairs,  &c.,"  if  the  Board  should 
move  at  all,  it  must  have  been  in  concert  with  this'  oppres- 
sion, this  literal  war  upon  the  rights  and  peace  of  the 
Cherokees ;  and  not  having  been  organized  for  any  such 
purpose,  there  was  no  alternative  left,  but  to  stand  still, 
and  not  operate  at  all. 

If  the  foregoing,  or  something  like  them,  were  not  the 
reasons  why  the  Indian  Board  of  New  York  never  ad- 
vanced a  step  after  its  formation,  towards  carrying  out  the 
humane  object  of  its  creaton,  then  I  know  not  what  the 
reasons  were.  I  had  been  cut  off  from  all  official  relations 
with  the  government,  by  command  of  President  Jackson, 
before  those  outbreaks  had  reached  the  height  of  their 
enormity  upon  the  peace  and  happiness,  and  rights  of  the 
Cherokees ;  and  with  that  severance,  fell  my  official  rela- 
tions and  intercourse  with  this  Board. 


256  MEMOIRS,  &c.,  &c. 


CHAPTER  XL 

ABOMINABLE    ABUSE     OF    POWER   IN   OUR   RELATIONS    WITH 

THE    INDIANS. 

Protection  guarantied  by  treaty  to  the  Indians — Some  extracts  from  these  treaties 
— How  interpreted  by  Mr.  Calhoun — Trampled  upon  by  General  Jackson — A 
Circular  Address  to  the  Indians — A  very  essential  modification — A  thrust  at  the 
Cherokees — Newspaper  comments — Dr.  Randolph  in  the  fidgets — Leave  of  ab- 
sence— Dismissed  from  office — Charges  of  defalcation — Four  years  persecu- 
tion— Mr.  Berrien's  influence  in  the  treatment  of  the  Cherokees — The  treaty  (?) 
of  New  Euchota — Repudiated  by  the  Cherokees — Force  to  be  employed — Ge- 
neral Scott — Ridge's  apology  for  the  New  Euchota  treaty — Formation  of  a  new 
government  west  of  the  Mississippi — The  Ridges  and  Boudinot  killed — Refusal 
to  recognize  the  Cherokee  delegation  at  Washington — My  interview  with  Mr. 
Poinsett — A  new  treaty  proposed — Mr.  Van  Buren's  objections — A  diplomatic 
way  of  getting  round  them — A  plan  proposed  to  bring  the  Seminole  war  to  a 
close — More  diplomacy,  ending  in  treachery — Vindication  of  John  Ross — Fur- 
ther developments  of  the  injustice  done  to  the  Cherokees — The  treaty  of 
Payne's  Landing — Jackson's  "  talk"— Outrages  upon  the  Florida  Indians — In- 
dian talk — Micanopy — Jumper — Osceola — The  mad  policy  which  provoked  the 
Florida  war. 

THAT  all  encroachments  upon  the  lands  not  ceded  by 
the  Indians  to  the  United  States,  and  all  trespasses,  were 
forbidden  by  the  treaty,  and  that  the  authority  and  power 
of  the  United  States  were  solemnly  pledged  to  protect  the 
Cherokees  from  intrusions  and  trespasses,  &c.,  the  trea- 
ties with  that  tribe,  as  well  as  others,  make  manifest. 

The  fifth  article  of  the  treaty  of  Washington,  of  the  27th 
of  February,  1819,  between  John  C.  Calhoun,  on  the  part 
of  the  United  States,  and  a  delegation  of  chiefs  and  head 
men  of  the  Cherokee  nation,  duly  authorized  and  em- 
powered by  said  nation,  contains  this  provision : — "  And 
all  white  people  who  have  intruded,  or  may  hereafter  in- 


MEMOIRS,  &c.,  &c.  257 

trude  on  the  lands  reserved  for  the  Cherokees,  shall  be  re- 
moved  by  the  United  States,  and  proceeded  against,  accor- 
ding to  the  provisions  of  the  act  passed  thirtieth  of  March, 
eighteen  hundred  and  two,  entitled  an  act  to  regulate  trade 
and  intercourse  with  the  Indikn  tribes,  and  to  preserve 
peace  on  the  frontiers." 

Well,  what  are  the  provisions  of  that  act  ?  There  are 
several  articles  all  binding  upon  the  United  States  to  pro- 
tect the  Indians,  and  under  almost  every  variety  of  form  in 
which  these  rights  could  be  invaded. 

The  fifth  article,  however,  contains  enough  of  both  ob- 
ligation and  power,  for  the  full  illustration  of  the  Indian's 
rights  and  claims,  and  of  the  government's  duty,  in  regard 
to  them.  It  reads  thus : — "  And  be  it  further  enacted, 
That  if  any  such  citizen,  or  other  person,  shall  make  a 
settlement  on  any  lands  belonging,  or  secured,  or  granted, 
by  treaty  with  the  United  States,  to  any  Indian  tribe,  or 
shall  survey,  or  attempt  to  survey  such  lands,  or  designate 
any  of  the  boundaries,  by  marking  trees,  or  otherwise,  such 
offender  shall  forfeit  a  sum  not  exceeding  one  thousand 
dollars,  and  suffer  imprisonment,  not  exceeding  twelve 
months.  And  it  shall,  moreover,  be  lawful  for  the  Presi- 
dent of  the  United  States  to  take  such  measures,  and  to 
employ  such  military  force,  as  he  may  judge  necessary,  to 
remove  from  lands  belonging  or  secured  by  treaty,  as 
aforesaid,  to  any  Indian  tribe,  any  such  citizen,  or  other 
person,  who  has  made,  or  shall  hereafter  make,  or  attempt 
to  make,  a  settlement  thereon." 

This  act  passed  through  all  the  forms  of  law,  and  was 
approved  by  Thomas  Jefferson.  So  far  as  my  experience 
went,  or  my  knowledge,  it  was,  from  its  passage  till  several 
months  after  General  Jackson's  accession  to  the  presidency, 
regarded  as  the  law  of  the  land,  and  had  been  enforced,  in 
good  faith,  by  the  government,  as  such. 

One  example,  out  of  many,  occurs  to  me.  Trespassers 
had  encroached  on  the  Cherokee  lands,  put  up  cabins,  and 

VOL.  I.  33 


258  MEMOIRS,  &c.,  &c. 

planted  corn.  Complaints  were  made  by  the  Cherokees, 
to  their  agent.  The  agent  proceeded,  as  was  the  custom, 
to  drive  them  off.  They  resisted.  He  reported  the  case 
to  me,  and  I  to  the  then  Secretary  of  War,  Mr.  Calhoun, 
who,  forthwith,  under  the  binding  obligations  of  the  treaty 
of  1819,  and  of  the  sanction  of  this  law  of  1802,  ordered 
Captain  Turk,  then  stationed  somewhere  in  that  quarter, 
to  march  with  a  competent  force  to  the  district  that  had 
been  encroached  upon,  and  order  the  intruders  off;  if  they 
refused  to  go,  to  cut  down  their  corn  and  demolish  their 
cabins ;  if  they  resisted,  to  employ  force.  They  did  resist 
— a  battle  was  fought,  in  which  some  one  or  more  of  the 
trespassers  were  killed.  These  intruders,  being  citizens 
of  Georgia,  the  authorities  of  that  State  arrested  Captain 
Turk  for  murder.  The  case  was  tried  in  a  Georgia  Court 
and  by  a  Georgia  jury,  and  he  was  acquitted.  Thus  were 
the  Indians  treated  with  good  faith,  and  the  law  vindicated. 
But  this  law  was  destined,  at  last,  though  unrepealed,  to 
become  a  dead  letter  !  The  solemn  compacts  with  the  In- 
dians, guaranteeing  to  them  "  protection,"  were  treated  as 
things  obsolete,  or  regarded  as  mockeries.  In  the  face, 
and  in  violation  of  the  provisions  of  the  one,  and  of  the 
enactments  of  the  other,  surveyors  were  permitted  to  pene- 
trate the  Indian  territory,  roam  over  it,  lay  it  off  into  coun- 
ties, and  to  proceed,  in  all  things,  for  its  settlement,  as 
though  no  Indians  occupied  it,  and  no  laws  existed,  de- 
manding the  interference  of  the  government  to  prevent 
it !  In  vain  did  the  Indians  implore  the  government  to  pro- 
tect them ;  in  vain  did  they  call  the  attention  of  the  Execu- 
tive to  the  provisions  of  treaties,  and  to  the  pledges  of  the 
law.  It  was  when  these  outrages  first  began  to  show  them- 
selves, and  thinking  President  Jackson  could  not  be  aware 
of  their  existence,  that  I  called  on  him,  and  referred  to 
them,  and  also  to  the  provisions  of  laws  and  treaties  that 
guarantied  to  the  Indians  a  freedom  from  such  trespasses. 
His  answer  was,  "  /Sir,  the  sovereignty  of  the  States  must  be 


MEMOIRS,  &c.,  &c.  259 

preserved"  concluding  with  a  termination  so  solemn,  and 
the  whole  being  spoken  in  a  manner  so  emphatic,  as  to 
satisfy  me  that  he  had  concluded  to  permit  Georgia,  and 
the  other  States  in  which  the  Indians  were  included,  to 
take  their  own  way  in  their  plans,  to  harrass,  persecute,  and 
force  out  their  Indian  population. 

Finally,  General  Jackson  was  to  leave  for  the  Hermitage, 
accompanied  by  the  Secretary  of  War,  Major  Eaton, — the 
latter  on  his  way  to  consummate,  under  the  treaty  form,  the 
conventional  arrangements  I  had  established  in  1827,  with 
the  Chickasaw  and  Choc  taw  Indians.  They  had  not  left 
the  President's  mansion  more  than  an  hour,  when  Dr. 
Randolph,  chief  clerk  of  the  War  Department,  and  who 
was  brother-in-law  of  Major  Eaton,  and  who  had  been  left 
acting  Secretary  of  War,  came  to  my  room,  saying — 
"  Colonel,  the  President  and  Secretary  of  War  wanted  me 
to  see  you,  and  request  you  to  prepare  a  circular  address 
to  the  Indians."  What  is  the  nature  of  the  address,  I 
asked ;  and  to  what  Indians  is  it  to  be  sent  ?  "  Why,"  he 
answered,  "  the  General  said  you  would  know  all  about 
it."  This  is  the  first  I  have  heard  of  this  circular,  Doctor, 
and  how  am  I  to  prepare  it  ?  "  Oh,  that  is  nothing,"  he 
replied,  "  you  have  the  business  at  your  fingers'  ends,  and 
«must  know  what  he  means."  He  retired.  I  wrote  a  cir- 
cular of  general  import,  but  containing  nothing  very  par- 
ticular or  very  important,  and  taking  it  to  the  acting  Sec- 
retary of  War,  asked  if  that  was  what  the  Secretary  and 
President  wanted  ?  "  The  very  thing"  he  answered. 

I  soon  discovered  that  Doctor  Randolph's  position,  as 
acting  Secretary  of  War,  was  only  nominal,  and  that  there 
was  a  real,  acting  secretary  at  hand ;  for  I  had  not  been 
back  to  my  chair  ten  minutes,  when  Frank,  the  colored 
messenger  of  the  War  Department,  who  deserves  to  have 
been  born  white,  came  to  my  room,  saying,  with  his  al- 
ways bland  and  obliging  manner, "  Colonel,  Judge  Berrien 
is  in  the  secretary's  room,  and  desires  to  see  you."  (Judge 


260  MEMOIRS,  &c.,  &c. 

Berrien  was  then  Attorney  General.)  I  reported  myself, 
when  the  judge,  holding  the  circular  in  his  hand,  that  I  had 
awhile  before  taken  to  Doctor  Randolph,  said  to  me,  "Col- 
onel, do  you  not  know  that  this — (holding  the  circular  up 
to  me) — is  not  what  the  President  wants  ?"  I  know  no 
more  of  the  matter,  I  replied,  than  what  Doctor  Randolph 
has  communicated  to  me.  He  brought  me  the  order  from 
the  Secretary  of  War  and  President,  and  says,  it  is  exactly 
what  they  want.  He  then  put  the  circular  upon  the  table 
before  him,  and  added  a  paragraph,  saying,  "  This  is  what 
is  wanted."  I  saw  at  a  glance,  what  was  its  object  and 
aim ;  and  that  was.  so  far  as  that  could  go  to  accomplish 
it,  to  break  up  the  Cherokee  government,  and  resolve  it 
into  its  former  and  scattered  elements. 

Many  years  before,  and  at  the  instance,  if  I  mistake 
not,  of  Colonel  Meigs,  it  was  agreed  by  the  then  President, 
that  the  amount  paid  for  rations  to  feed  the  Indians  when 
they  were  called  together  to  receive,  each,  his  portion  of 
the  annuity,  should,  henceforth,  be  paid  in  money,  to  the 
authorities  of  the  Cherokee  nation ;  and  that  they  would 
account  to  the  nation  for  the  same.  The  sum,  I  think, 
was  about  twelve  hundred  dollars ;  I  write  from  memory. 
This  amount  had  been  remitted  annually,  for  many  years, 
with  their  annuities ;  and  at  last,  when  the  Cherokees  or- 
ganized  themselves  into  a  regular  government,  with  all  the 
usual  offices  and  their  incumbents,  this  sum  was  put  into 
their  treasury,  as  part  of  the  nation's  rights. 

An  order  forbidding  this  money  to  be  any  longer  thus 
paid  to  the  authorities  of  the  nation,  was  an  order  which 
struck  directly  at  their  system  of  government,  and  looked 
to  a  return  to  the  old  system  of  the  distribution  of  the 
amount  among  the  Indians,  reducing  them,  so  far  as  this 
item  went,  to  their  original  elements.  And  this  was  the  ob- 
ject of  this  circular.  As  in  the  business  of  sapping  and 
mining,  to  carry  a  fortress  in  war,  a  first  entrenchment, 
unseen,  if  possible,  by  the  enemy,  must  be  made,  so  I  saw 


MEMOIRS,  &c.,  &c.  261 

in  this,  a  first  step,  intended  to  be  well  covered,  was  taken, 
towards  the  overthrow  of  the  Cherokee  government,  and 
a  consequent  breaking  up  of  the  power  of  this  people. 

I  took  the  circular,  with  Judge  Berrien's  addition,  to  my 
copying  clerk,  Mr.  Miller,  and  directed  him  to  omit  the 
customary  heading  of  all  writings  emanating  from  my  of- 
fice— which  was  "War  Department,  Office  of  Indian  Affairs" 
— and  head  it,  WAR  DEPARTMENT,  only.  The  copy  being 
made,  I  took  it  to  Doctor  Randolph,  and  told  him,  as  this 
was  an  emanation  direct  from  the  War  Department,  it 
ought  to  be  signed  by  him,  as  acting  Secretary  of  War. 
"  Certainly,"  said  the  doctor,  when  he  signed  it,  and  it  was 
sent  off. 

By  and  by,  the  newspapers  got  hold  of  this  move  upon 
the  Cherokee  government,  and  spoke  of  it  as  unbecoming 
a  government  like  ours,  thus  to  vex  and  war  upon  a  feeble 
people  who  were  just  emerging  from  barbarism  into  civiliza- 
tion, and  from  anarchy  to  a  system  of  government,  &c. ; 
and  some  not  very  complimentary  remarks  were  made 
upon  the  acting  Secretary  of  War,  for  his  manifesto. 
These  assaults  having  reached  the  doctor,  he  came  into  my 
office,  quite  excited,  and  asked,  "  Why,  sir,  did  you  make 
me  sign  that  paper  ?"  What  paper  ?  "  That  circular  to 
the  Cherokees."  I  referred,  its  signature  to  you,  I  an- 
swered, because  it  emanated  from  the  department  proper, 
and  not  from  me.  I  did  not  deem  it  proper  for  me  to  sign 
it,  nor  do  I  now.  If  it  has  worked  ill,  I  had  no  agency  in 
it.  The  doctor  continued  some  time  to  be  annoyed  by  the 
newspapers,  and  did  not  seem,  afterwards,  to  regard  me 
with  the  usual  civilities  that  had  heretofore  marked  his  in- 
tercourse with  me. 

I  had  at  that  time  on  hand  the  large  work  on  the  Histo- 
ry, &c.,  of  the  North  American  Indians.  It  was  in  the 
hands  of  Samuel  F.  Bradford,  of  Philadelphia,  as  publisher. 
I  needed  rest  from  my  labors,  and  withal  I  was  not  well.  I 
requested  and  obtained  leave  of  absence,  to  go  and  look  after 


262  MEMOIRS,  &c.,  &c. 

this  work,  and  for  relaxation,  and  to  better  my  health — and 
extended  my  journey  to  New  York.  On  my  return  to  Phila- 
delphia, and  on  my  way  from  the  wharf  to  the  hotel,  I 
stopped  at  the  post-office,  and  took  from  it  a  letter  from 
Doctor  Randolph,  informing  me  that,  from  and  after  the 
first  day  of  October  next  ensuing,  my  services  in  the  In- 
dian Department  would  not  be  required.  Returning  to 
Washington,  I  inquired  of  him  what  the  grounds  of  my 
dismissal  were.  "  Why,  sir,"  was  his  reply,  "  everybody 
knows  your  qualifications  for  the  place,  but  General  Jack- 
son has  been  long  satisfied  that  you  are  not  in  harmony 
with  him,  in  his  views  in  regard  to  the  Indians."  And  thus 
closed  my  connexion  with  the  government. 

It  was,  immediately  upon  my  dismissal,  thrown  out, 
through  the  party  press,  that  my  accounts  were  not  set- 
tled ;  and  the  impression  became  general,  that  I  was  a  de- 
faulter. It  is  true,  those  very  accounts  to  which  I  have 
referred,  as  having  been  adjusted,  and  "  approved"  by  the 
Secretary  of  War,  had  not  been  carried  to  my  credit,  but 
remained  in  the  hands  of  the  auditor.  I  urged,  entreated, 
prayed  that  they  might  be  acted  upon,  but  in  vain !  At 
last,  and  after  I  had  been  made  to  endure  the  persecution 
of  the  dominant  press  and  party,  and  subjected  to  a  with- 
drawal of  confidence  in  the  public  mind,  so  far  as  that 
mind  was  affected  by  the  implication  of  my  being  a  de- 
faulter, and  four  years  had  been  allowed,  that  is,  from  1829 
to  1833,  to  pass  on,  leaving  me  thus  exposed,  those  very 
accounts  were  passed  upon,  and  allowed,  without  the  varia- 
tion of  a  cent,  or  any  exception  whatever  taken  to  their 
correctness,  not  by  the  party,  or  by  any  officer,  with  which, 
or  with  whom,  I  was  in  political  affinity,  but  by  General 
Jackson's  personal  friend  and  auditor,  William  B.  Lewis. 
The  following  is  the  copy  of  his  letter  to  me,  announcing 
the  settlement : — 


MEMOIRS,  &c.,  &c.  263 

"TREASURY  DEPARTMENT,  ) 
Second  Au-.'Hor's  office,  16th  November,  1833.      $ 

"  SIR  :  Communication  from  the  Comptroller  of  the  Treasury,  having  been 
made  to  this  office,  on  the  1st  inst.,  that  your  accounts  as  late  Superintendent  of 
Indian  Trade,  had  been  closed  on  the  books  of  that  department,  I  hereby  inform 
you  that  the  balance  of  four  hundred  and  fifty-five  dollars,  and  thirty  cents, 
arising  out  of  an  account  presented  by  you,  and  sanctioned  by  J.  Barbour,  Sec- 
retary of  War,  for  expenses  incurred,  presents  made,  and  services  rendered, 
under  instructions  from  the  War  Department,  of  28th  March,  and  10th  April, 
1827,  on  a  tour  among  the  Cherokee,  Choctaw,  and  Creek  Indians,  in  1827,  has 
been  admitted.  The  above  balance  has  been  paid  agreeable  to  your  directions, 
viz  :  one  hundred  and  thirty-eight  dollars,  and  fifty-nine  cents,  to  the  American 
Fur  Company,  and  three  hundred  and  sixteen  dollars,  and  seventy-one  cents,  to 
Major  Trueman  Cross.  This  transaction  closes  your  accounts  on  the  books  of 
this  office. 

%      "I  am,  with  respect,  your  obedient  servant, 

WILLIAM  B.  LEWIS." 

I  have  referred  only  to  the  indirect  assault  upon  the 
Cherokees,  excepting  the  direct  attack  upon  their  system 
of  government,  through  their  treasury,  in  the  paper  writ- 
ten by  Judge  Berrien.  If  I  am  not  mistaken,  this  distin- 
guished gentleman  published,  on  leaving  General  Jack- 
son's cabinet,  that  his  object  in  coming  into  that  cabinet 
had  reference,  mainly,  if  not  wholly,  to  that  Indian 
subject.  It  is  not  therefore  impossible,  he  being  At- 
torney General,  that  his  counsels  in  regard  to  the  posi- 
tion the  Executive  ought  to  assume,  as  between  the  claims 
of  sovereignty  on  the  part  of  Georgia,  and  the  treaties 
and  laws  which  went  to  protect  the  Indians  from  its  action 
upon  them,  were  what  influenced  General  Jackson  to  take 
the  course  he  did.  I  am  far  from  saying  this  was  the 
case. 

These  distressing  intrusions  continued  to  afflict  the 
Cherokees,  who,  in  their  midst,  maintained  their  position 
in  the  best  manner  they  could,  down  to  the  date  of  the 
instrument  got  up  at  New  Euchota,  and  miscalled  a  treaty ; 
when  a  stronger  force  was  employed,  and  more  direct 
movements  were  made,  to  expel  them  from  their  country. 
An  instrument  was  found,  in  the  person  of  the  Rev.  Mr. 


264  MEMOIRS,  &c.,  &c. 

Schermerhorn,  for  the  making  of  a  final  move  upon  the 
Cherokees.  This  gentleman  having  secured  the  assent 
of  Major  Ridge,  his  son  John,  and  Elias  Boudinot,  all  men 
of  influence  among  the  Cherokees,  called  a  council  to 
meet  at  New  Euchota,  for  the  purpose  of  making  a  treaty 
for  the  final  surrender  of  all  their  country  remaining  to 
them,  on  the  east  of  the  Mississippi.  The  instrument 
bearing  the  title  of  treaty,  and  purporting  to  be  made 
with  the  Cherokee  nation,  was  signed  by  the  two  Ridges 
and  Boudinot,  and  a  few  obscure  individuals,  and  sent  on 
to  Washington  as  the  act  of  the  nation  !  And  in  despite 
of  the  almost  unanimous  voice  of  the  Cherokee  popula- 
tion, declaring  the  act  done  at  New  Euchota,  to  be  a  fraud, 
and  that  it  was  the  work  of  a  few  individuals  only,  and  not 
of  the  nation,  it  was  received,  accepted,  acted  upon,  and 
ratified ! 

The  time  limited  in  this  mock  treaty  of  New  Euchota,  for 
the  removal  of  the  Cherokees,  approaching,  and  a  steady 
determination  having  been  expressed  by  them,  that  they 
would  not  regard  the  obligations  alleged  by  the  authorities 
of  Washington  to  be  imposed  upon  them  by  it,  General 
Scott  was  ordered  to  move  upon,  and  by  force  of  arms, 
drive  them  from  the  country.  At  one  time  the  Cherokees 
had  well-nigh  resolved  to  stand  their  ground,  preferring, 
rather  than  have  the  provisions  of  an  instrument,  such  as 
that  framed  at  New  Euchota,  made  binding  on  them,  or 
to  accept  the  provisions  of  any  compact  so  base  and  so 
fraudulent  as  that,  to  bare  their  bosoms,  and  receive  un- 
resistingly the  bayonet  and  the  ball,  and  mingle  their  re- 
mains with  the  dust  of  their  country,  and  the  ashes  of  their 
ancestors.  This  purpose  was,  I  know,  seriously  medita- 
ted by  many. 

The  command  to  remove  the  Cherokees,  fortunately  for 
all  parties,  was  referred  to  hands  that  moved  in  harmony 
with  just  dealings,  and  under  the  impulses  of  a  humane  heart. 
General  Scott,  appreciating  his  position,  and  the  condition 


MEMOIRS,  &c.,  &c.  265 

of  the  Cherokees,  employed,  and  successfully,  his  influence 
to  bring  about  a  state  of  feeling,  on  their  part,  that  should, 
at  the  same  time,  harmonize  with  the  policy  of  the  Execu- 
tive in  regard  to  their  removal,  and  their  own  sense  of 
their  own  rights ;  when  such  a  compact  was  entered  into, 
combining  both,  as  led  to  the  voluntary  emigration,  so  far 
as  the  nature  of  the  case  would  admit  of  the  acquiescence 
of  this  long  harrassed  and  suffering  people.  But  their  dif- 
ficulties were  destined  to  assume  a  new  aspect ;  and  those 
grew  out  of  the  relations  which  the  party  who  signed  the 
instrument  at  New  Euchota,  and  the  party  who  opposed 
it,  might  naturally  be  supposed  to  bear  towards  each  other. 
Major  Ridge,  and  his  son  John,  being  on  a  visit  to  Phila- 
delphia, spent  some  time  with  me,  when  the  subject  of  their 
agency  in  consummating  the  New  Euchota  treaty,  so  called, 
was  discussed.  Major  Ridge,  in  reply  to  my  reference  to 
the  peril  in  which  he  had,  in  my  opinion,  placed  himself, 
said,  "  /  expect  to  die  for  it"  The  treaty,  he  admitted, 
was  not  made  by  the  nation,  but  in  opposition  to  its  known 
and  expressed  will.  He  admitted,  also,  that  the  only  three 
names  of  influence  attached  to  it,  were  his  own,  his  son's, 
and  Boudinot's,  and  that  the  remainder  would  have  signed 
with  the  same  freedom  a  paper  of  any  other  sort.  Why, 
I  asked,  major,  if  you  expected  your  life  to  pay  the  for- 
feit, did  you  take  that  step ?  "I  thought  my  people,"  was 
his  answer,  "  were  very  unhappy  where  they  were.  Geor- 
gia was  pressing  hard  upon  them  ;  the  government  at 
Washington  would  do  nothing  to  relieve  them."  He  saw 
things  getting  worse  and  worse,  and  he  thought  if  he  could, 
any  how,  bring  about  a  removal  of  his  people,  it  would  be 
for  their  present  and  future  good ;  and  that  he  was  old,  and 
his  life  would  be  of  but  little  loss,  compared  with  such  gain 
to  them.  And  yet,  there  is  no  reason  for  believing  other- 
wise than  that,  when  the  nation  agreed  to  remove  under 
the  arrangement  made  with  General  Scott,  the  enmity 
against  the  two  Ridges,  and  Boudinot,  had  in  a  great  de- 


266  MEMOIRS,  &c.,  &c. 

gree  ceased,  if  not  altogether.  'Tis  true,  the  wrong  which 
had  been  done,  was  never  esteemed  to  be  the  less  deep  or 
lasting ;  but  if  the  purpose  to  avenge  it  in  the  mode  com- 
mon to  these  people,  for  such  an  offence,  had  ever  been 
formed,  it  had  been  wholly  abandoned. 

The  emigration  being  over,  and  the  eastern  portion  of 
the  Cherokees,  (such  as  survived  the  Exodus,  there  having 
died  in  their  passage,  something  like  two  thousand,)  being 
now  joined  with  their  brethren  who  had  preceded  them 
under  the  treaties  of  1817  and  1819,  they  called  a  general 
council  of  the  whole  nation,  for  the  purpose  of  forming  a 
government,  and  perfecting  that  which  had  been  com- 
menced on  the  east  of  the  Mississippi.  The  council  met, 
the  Ridges  and  Boudinot  forming  part,  when,  to  the  sur- 
prise of  the  entire  body  of  the  late  emigrants,  except  the 
party  in  the  interest  of  the  Ridges  and  Boudinot,  the  right 
of  government  was  claimed  to  be  in  the  old  emigrants — 
who  numbered  about  one-third  of  the  whole — the  Ridges 
and  Boudinot  taking  the  lead  in  this  new  opposition.  This 
it  was,  that  rekindled  the  fires  of  the  previous  enmity, 
which  resulted  in  the  killing  of  the  two  Ridges  and 
Boudinot. 

The  federal  Executive  having  taken  sides  with  the  Ridge 
or  treaty  party,  when  the  Cherokee  nation  deputed  its 
delegation  to  represent  it  at  Washington,  President 
Van  Buren  and  his  Secretary  of  War  refused  to  receive 
JOHN  Ross  and  his  accredited  associates,  in  their  capacity 
as  representatives !  Moreover,  official  communications, 
emanating  from  the  officer  in  charge  of  the  Indian  Depart- 
ment, openly  implicated  Ross,  the  chief  of  the  Cherokee 
nation,  as  accessory  to  the  murder  of  the  Ridges  and  Bou- 
dinot ! ! !  Being  in  Washington  during  this  state  of  things, 
Mr.  Poinsett  being  Secretary  of  War,  I  called  on  this  func- 
tionary. I  had  long  known  him  personally,  and  knew  him 
to  be  a  gentleman,  a  man  of  talents,  and,  as  I  believed,  sin- 


MEMOIRS,  &c.,  &c.  267 

cerely  devoted  to  the  cause  of  justice.  If  he  had  not  con- 
fided, under  the  honest  impulses  of  his  own  heart,  too  much 
in  others,  for  reports  of  facts  and  details,  in  this  controversy, 
his  decisions,  I  doubt  not,  would  have  been  different,  at  least 
on  several  points,  from  what  they  were.  I  took  the  liberty 
of  referring  to  the  situation  of  the  delegation  of  Cherokees 
then  in  Washington — to  the  notorious  fact  that  they  had 
been  deputed  by  the  Cherokee  nation,  to  represent  it  at 
Washington — and  yet,  there  they  were,  under  the  ban — hav- 
ing been  refused  to  be  recognized  in  their  official  capacity — 
literal  wanderers !  I  referred  to  his  having,  as  I  had  been 
informed,  deputed  Mr.  Mason,  the  same  who  had  been  with 
him  as  Secretary  of  Legation,  in  Mexico,  to  the  Chero- 
kee country,  to  ascertain  the  relative  numbers  of  the  two 
parties,  whose  report,  as  I  had  been  informed,  was,  in  sub- 
stance, that  the  Ridge  party  was  merely  a  thing  in  name, 
and  that  the  Ross  party  was  literally  the  nation.  Under 
such  circumstances,  I  ventured  to  express  the  hope  that 
the  delegation  then  in  Washington,  headed  by  the  chief, 
Ross,  might  be  received ;  further  stating,  that,  in  my  opin- 
ion, the  certain  way  to  harmonize  all  the  distractions  that 
had  grown  out  of  the  New  Euchota  treaty,  would  be  to 
annul  it,  and  make  a  new  one.  There  was  precedent  for 
it,  I  proceeded  to  state,  in  the  treaty  of  Washington,  of 
the  24th  January,  1826,  made  with  the  Creeks.  Mclntosh 
had  sold  the  country  of  the  Creeks,  at  the  Indian  Springs, 
against  the  law  and  the  will  of  the  nation ;  for  which  he 
was  summarily  shot.  Meantime,  the  treaty  had  been  pro- 
tested against,  but  was,  by  some  haste  in  getting  it  through 
the  Senate,  ratified  by  that  body,  and  approved  by  the 
President.  The  Creeks  sent  a  deputation  to  Washington, 
who  peremptorily  refused,  not  only  to  acknowledge  the 
validity  or  binding  force  of  the  treaty  of  the  Indian  Springs, 
made  by  Mclntosh  and  his  party,  but  to  enter  upon  any 
negotiations  for  a  new  one,  till,  as  they  phrased  it,  "  the 
head  of  that  treaty  was  cut  off"  In  my  interview  with  the 


268  MEMOIRS,  &c.,  &c. 

delegation,  I  ascertained  that,  this  condition  being  agreed 
to,  they  were  not  only  prepared  to  make  a  new  treaty,  but 
such  a  one  as  I  knew  would  be  acceptable  to  the  govern- 
ment— when  the  condition  was  agreed  to,  and,  as  a  refer- 
ence to  the  treaty  of  Washington  will  show,  complied 
with,  in  the  first  article,  in  these  words  :  "Article  1.  The 
treaty  concluded  at  the  Indian  Springs,  on  the  twelfth  day  of 
February,  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  twenty-Jive,  between 
commissioners  on  the  part  of  the  United  States,  and  the  said 
Creek  nation  of  Indians,  and  ratified  by  the  United  States 
on  the  seventh  day  of  March,  one  thousand  eight  hundred 
and  twenty-Jive,  is  hereby  declared  to  be  null  and  void,  to 
every  intent  and  purpose  whatsoever;  and  every  right  and 
claim  arising  from  the  same,  is  hereby  cancelled  and  sur- 
rendered." 

That,  sir,  I  continued,  is  the  precedent,  and  the  cases 
are,  in  almost  all  respects,  precisely  similar.  To  which 
Mr.  Poinsett  replied,  "Colonel  McKenney,  Mr.  Van  Buren 
will  never  consent  to  undo  anything  that  General  Jackson  has 
done." 

Then,  sir,  that  being  the  case,  I  propose  another  method. 
Make  a  treaty  with  this  delegation,  embracing,  without  any 
reference  to  the  New  Euchota  treaty,  such  of  its  provisions 
as  may  be  acceptable  to  both  the  parties  to  it,  including 
all  other  matters  which  may  be  deemed  important,  and 
leave  the  offensive  treaty  to  stand  as  a  dead  letter. 
"  That,"  he  answered,  "  might,  possibly,  be  done."  He 
then  consented  to  receive  the  delegation,  as  such,  and  did 
so  ;  I  having,  after  a  little  further  conversation,  gone  after 
them,  and  accompanied  them  to  the  War  Department,  giv- 
ing the  usual  introduction.  Mr.  Poinsett  accompanied 
them  to  the  President's,  who,  after  the  usual  ceremonies, 
(and  which,  as  I  learned  from  the  delegation  afterwards, 
were  quite  courteous,)  said,  "  Whatever  arrangements  the 
Secretary  of  War  might  make  with  them,  would  be  agree- 
able to  him." 


MEMOIRS,  &c.,  &c.  269 

The  further  conversation  which  I  had  with  Mr.  Poinsett, 
had  relation  to  the  Seminole  war,  and  the  readiest  way  to 
bring  it  to  a  close.  That  way,  I  gave  it  as  my  belief,  was, 
to  interest  the  chief  of  the  Cherokees,  John  Ross,  in  the 
matter,  and  procure  his  co-operation.  I  said,  I  was  sure, 
if  asked  to  do  so,  he  would  depute  a  delegation  from  his  na- 
tion, of  intelligent  and  prudent  men,  who,  going  as  pacifi- 
cators, would,  in  my  opinion,  secure  a  peace.  "  But  to 
ask  this  of  Ross,"  said  Mr.  Poinsett,  "  would  be  like  ac- 
knowledging that  the  United  States  was  not  competent  to 
subdue  these  Seminoles."  Well,  sir,  I  said,  so  far,  they 
have  not  been,  and  the  world  knows  it ;  and  my  opinion  is, 
the  conclusion  of  that  war  is  yet  a  great  way  off — unless 
other  means  are  resorted  to,  than  mere  force.  To  obviate 
your  objection,  then,  suppose  Ross  shall  ask  permission  to 
interfere  in  the  way  proposed — how  then  ?  "  That  would 
alter  the  case,"  replied  the  secretary. 

I  made  known  all  this  to  Ross,  who  came  very  cheer- 
fully into  the  measure,  saying,  it  would  afford  him  great 
pleasure  to  assist  in  restoring  peace  between  the  United 
States  and  the  Seminoles.  The  result  was,  an  under- 
standing between  the  secretary  and  Ross,  upon  this  sub- 
ject ;  the  appointment  by  Ross,  of  several  of  his  most 
intelligent  and  prudent  men ;  (the  estimable  and  pious 
Jesse  Bushyhead,  afterwards  judge  of  the  Cherokee  na- 
tion, being  one,)  their  going  among  the  Seminoles,  and 
obtaining  the  consent  of  the  chiefs  to  make  a  peace,  (with 
the  exception  of  Sam  Jones,  who  said  Micanopy  was  his 
chief,  whatever  he  should  do  he  would  agree  to,)  the  bringing 
these  chiefs  in  to  the  American  camp,  for  the  purpose  of 
making  a  treaty  of  peace ;  and  in  these  chiefs  being  cap- 
tured, and  made  prisoners  of  war  of ! 

The  effect  upon  the  Cherokee  mediators,  of  this  pro- 
ceeding, was,  to  expose  them  to  the  resentment  of  the 
Seminoles,  and  to  their  vengeance,  as  traitors.  They  all, 


270  MEMOIRS,  &c.,  &c. 

however,  reached  their  homes  in  safety,  though  not  with- 
out enduring  many  hardships. 

Meantime,  Ross  was,  by  the  countenance  which  the 
Executive  had  given  to  the  Ridge  party — but  more  to 
the  open  charge  that  he  had  been  accessory  to  the  mur- 
der of  the  Ridges  and  Boudinot — exposed  to  the  feelings 
which  all  civilized  men  entertain  towards  a  murderer ;  and 
to  the  open  or  secret  vengeance  of  those  who  were  of  the 
Ridge  party ;  and  he  stands  thus  exposed  to  this  hour  !  I 
have  diligently  examined  the  whole  of  this  subject ;  and 
here  make  the  record,  that  John  Ross,  principal  chief  of 
the  Cherokee  nation,  had  no  more  agency,  directly  or  indi- 
rectly, in  procuring  the  death  of  the  Ridges  and  Boudinot, 
than  I  had.  Moreover,  that  if  he  had  suspected  the  existence 
of  any  such  purpose,  on  the  part  of  any  of  his  people,  he 
would  have  put  a  stop  to  it.  No  man  deplored  the  tragedy 
more  than  he  did.  Great  injustice  has  been  done  this 
intelligent,  efficient,  and  excellent  man. 

There  is,  perhaps,  no  man  living  who  is  better  acquaint- 
ed with  John  Ross,  than  I  am.  My  knowledge  of  him 
dates  back  as  far  as  thirty  years.  I  have  known  him  in 
his  official,  personal,  and  private  relations ;  in  his  official 
relations,  from  the  time  he  succeeded  the  venerable 
Charles  R.  Hicks,  as  principal  chief  of  the  Cherokee  na- 
tion ;  and  personally,  before  that  time,  and  ever  since.  It 
were  a  useless  expenditure  of  time  for  me  to  dwell  upon 
Mr.  Ross's  official  character.  This  is  stamped  upon  his  en- 
tire career  as  chief  of  the  Cherokees ;  and  the  ability,  and 
firmness,  and  patience,  with  which  he  has  vindicated  and 
maintained  the  rights  of  the  Cherokees  in  their  relations 
to  the  general  government,  are  matters  of  record  in  the 
archives  of  the  government ;  whilst  the  influence  which  he 
has  exerted  over  his  people,  for  their  good,  are  matters  of 
public  notoriety. 

That  divisions  should  exist  among  his  people,  is  most 


MEMOIRS,  &c.,  &c.  271 

natural ;  that  he  should  have  enemies,  implacable,  bitter, 
relentless,  is  to  share  the  lot  of  all  who  are  patriotic  and 
faithful,  including  our  own  Washington.  But  there  is  no- 
thing more  true,  than  if  left  to  themselves,  and  to  the  en- 
lightened, mild,  and  pacific  counsels  of  Ross  and  his  lead- 
ing men ;  and  intermeddling,  and  vicious,  and  avaricious 
white  men  had  not  originated  the  elements  of  strife,  and 
thrown  them  in  among  the  Cherokees,  and  promoted,  for 
their  own  ends,  the  discords  that  have  distracted  that  peo- 
ple, they  would  be,  at  this  moment,  harmonious,  united 
and  happy. 

Mr.  Ross  is,  and  has  always  been,  strictly  temperate. 
In  his  private  character  he  is  without  reproach.  As  a  fa- 
ther, brother,  husband,  friend,  he  is  beloved,  and  justly  so. 
He  is  kind,  and  courteous,  and  unobtrusive — a  man  of  few 
words,  but  of  sound,  deep  thinking,  a  high  sense  of  honor, 
and  of  indomitable  firmness. 

To  his  people,  for  whom  he  has  endured  much,  and  been 
exposed  to  all  sorts  of  personal  hazards,  he  is  devotedly 
attached ;  and,  except  those  who  have  been  played  upon 
and  misled  by  intermeddling  white  men,  is  beloved  and 
confided  in  by  them.  In  proof  of  this,  reference  need  only 
be  made  to  their  continued  confidence,  as  shown  in  his 
election,  for  so  long  a  period,  as  their  principal  chief,  both 
east  and  west  of  the  Mississippi.  With  less  of  confidence 
in  him,  on  the  part  of  the  Cherokees,  and  less  ability  and 
foresight  on  his  part,  or  less  devotion  in  him  towards  them 
and  their  interests,  the  partizan  strife  which  has  been  made 
to  distract  the  Cherokees,  must  long  before  now  have  re- 
duced them  to  insignificance,  and  resulted,  finally,  in  their 
extinction.  It  is  to  Ross's  great  prudence,  self-command, 
intelligence,  and  firmness,  that  this  people  owe  their  pres- 
ent freedom  from  far  greater  and  more  overwhelming  ca- 
lamities than  have  befallen  them. 

It  is  my  firm  belief  that  the  United  States  owe  to  Mr. 
Ross  a  freedom  from  more  than  one  outbreak  on  the  part 


272  MEMOIRS,   &c.,  &c. 

of  the  Cherokees,  that  would  have  produced  great  suffer- 
ing along  the  frontiers,  and  immense  expenditures  of  blood 
and  treasure.  His  counsels  have  been  always  in  favor  of 
peace,  and  a  patient  endurance  of  the  evils,  with  which 
the  policy  of  the  general  government,  for  the  last  sixteen 
years,  has  overwhelmed  them.  Such  was  the  stand  taken 
by  him,  for  the  preservation  of  pacific  relations  between 
his  people  and  the  States,  and  so  constant  were  his  pro- 
mises, that  justice  would  finally  be  done  his  people,  as  to 
lead  them,  soon  after  General  Harrison  was  elected,  and 
when  nothing  was  yet  accomplished  in  their  behalf,  to 
the  very  brink  of  a  rupture  with  the  United  States,  at- 
tended by  a  full  purpose  to  kill  the  chief,  so  soon  as  he 
should  leave  Washington,  who  had,  as  they  now  believed, 
so  long  deceived  them.  Fortunately,  by  the  agency  of 
General  Scott,  in  his  appeals  to  the  War  Department,  in 
behalf  of  the  justice  of  the  Cherokee  claims,  Ross  was 
enabled  to  carry  home  with  him  a  large  amount  of  mo- 
ney, though  only  a  part  of  what  was  due  to  the  Chero- 
kees, thus  restoring  to  himself  the  confidence,  which,  by 
the  delays  of  the  general  government,  he  had  lost ;  and 
with  this  confidence,  came  a  state  of,  at  least,  comparative 
personal  security  to  himself. 

The  reader  has  already,  I  am  sure,  traced  all  this  pain- 
ful business  to  its  source.  It  proceeded  from  a  fraudulent 
act,  connived  at  by  the  Executive  of  the  United  States, 
first,  in  permitting  the  treaty  (as  it  was  styled)  of  New 
Euchota  to  be  made  at  all ;  second,  after  it  was  made,  in 
refusing  to  yield  to  the  protestations  of  some  sixteen 
thousand  Cherokees,  that  the  treaty  was  not  made  by  the 
nation,  but  only  by  a  few,  who  had  no  authority  to  make 
it ;  and  third,  in  the  resolve,  at  all  hazards,  to  enforce  its 
provisions,  vi  et  armis.  The  responsibility,  assumed  by  the 
Executive,  in  this  view  of  the  subject,  was,  indeed,  most 
fearful ! 

But  the  whole  affair  assumes  a  yet  more  painful  aspect, 


MEMOIRS,   &c.,  &c.  273 

when  a  treaty,  with  the  nation,  was  then,  and  had  long  been, 
within  reach  of  the  Executive  ;  and  I  am  the  witness.  The 
Cherokee  delegation,  with  Ross  at  its  head,  during  a  pe- 
riod of  its  greatest  excitement,  being  in  Philadelphia,  I 
visited  them  at  Mrs.  Yohe's  hotel,  on  Chesnut-street ;  and 
received  the  following  from  their  own  lips : — "  It  is  true 
we  do  not  wish  to  sell  our  country.  The  very  thought  is 
painful  to  us.  But  the  injustice  of  the  United  States  go- 
vernment, its  total  disregard  of  treaties,  and  our  exposed 
and  unprotected  condition  being  such,  we  would  not  hesi- 
tate to  negotiate  for  an  exchange,  that  we  might  go  where 
we  would  be  free  from  the  consuming  policy  which  is  per- 
mitted to  be  exercised  towards  us.  And  yet,  what  can 
we  do  ?  The  President  keeps  sending  among  us,  to  ne- 
gotiate for  our  lands,  men  for  whom  we  have  no  respect, 
in  whom  we  have  no  confidence ;  men,  in  a  word,  who  are 
known  to  us  to  be  our  enemies.  If  it  were  referred  to  you, 
or  to  any  one  who  was  competent,  and  was  our  friend, 
and  had  our  confidence,  and  who  would  co-operate  with 
us  in  aiding  us  to  obtain  justice — we  want  nothing  more — 
and  would  not  seek  to  entrap,  and  deceive,  and  cneat  us, 
we  would  consent  to  treat." 

Being  anxious  to  bring  to  a  harmonious  close  the  contro- 
versy that  was  being  carried  on  for  these  people's  lands, 
and  securing  for  them  a  permanent  and  peaceful  home  west 
of  the  Mississippi,  I  wrote  immediately  to  Governor  Cass,  at 
that  time  Secretary  of  War,  and  also  to  the  Hon.  William 
R.  King,  then  United  States  Senator  from  Alabama,  now 
Minister  to  France,  communicating  this  conversation,  and 
making  known  to  the  former  my  readiness  to  undertake,  if 
permitted,  as  a  private  citizen,  not  as  a  commissioner,  to  lay 
the  basis  of  a  treaty  which  could  be  consummated  by  oth- 
ers. Governor  Cass  acknowledged  the  receipt  of  my  letter. 
Mr.  King  afterwards  told  me  he  had  replied  to  me  also, 
but  his  letter  never  reached  me ;  and  there  the  matter 
ended.  The  resolve  of  the  Executive  seemed  to  be,  to 

VOL.  I.  35 


274  MEMOIRS,   &c.,  &c. 

carry  on  all  the  business  of  the  government  by  the  agency 
of  his  political  friends,  only ;  and,  as  in  the  case  of  the 
Cherokees,  when  these,  from  no  matter  what  cause,  failed 
to  accomplish  the  work  assigned  to  them  by  the  ordinary 
means,  to  assume  the  responsibility  himself,  and  resort  to 
those  which  were  extraordinary.  Whatever  of  suffering, 
therefore,  or  of  blood,  has  succeeded  that  New  Euchota 
treaty,  including  the  murder  of  the  Ridges  and  Boudinot, 
with  all  the  subsequent  afflictions  and  present  distractions 
which  agitate  and  distress  the  Cherokees,  as  also  all  the 
sufferings  that  may  hereafter  overtake  them,  and  the  shed- 
ding of  blood,  the  result  of  this  strife,  it  needs  not  the 
wisdom  of  Solomon  to  perceive,  has  come,  and  will  come, 
as  do  poisoned  waters  from  their  source,  from  the  so-called 
treaty  of  New  Euchota.  There  lives  not  the  man,  with  his 
intellects  in  order,  and  his  moral  balance  adjusted,  having 
a  knowledge  of  all  the  facts,  who  will  not  put  the  seal  of 
his  condemnation  upon  that  New  Euchota  instrument,  and 
upon  the  power  that  was  assumed  for  its  ratification  and 
enforcement.  It  was  an  open  fraud,  and  is  a  foul  blot  upon 
the  escutcheon  of  the  nation,  and  will  remain  there  forever. 
The  same  may  be  said  of  the  treaty,  and  the  means  re- 
sorted to  for  its  enforcement,  of  Payne's  Landing,  in  Flori- 
da. The  objection  is  not  so  much  to  the  treaty  itself,  as 
to  the  usurpation  of  power  to  enforce  at  least  one  provi- 
sion which  it  did  not  contain ;  or,  in  other  words,  to  de- 
mand of  the  Seminoles  to  remove,  under  a  conditional  stip- 
ulation, as  though  they  had  made  the  article  unconditional, 
and  had  offered  no  remonstrances  against  its  fulfilment. 
"  There  is  a  condition  prefixed  to  the  agreement,"  says 
Colonel  Gadsden,  the  commissioner  who  negotiated  the 
treaty,  in  his  letter  to  the  Secretary  of  War,  "  without  as- 
senting to  which,  the  Indians  most  positively  refused  to  ne- 
gotiate for  their  removal  west  of  the  Mississippi.  Even 
with  the  condition  annexed,  there  was  reluctance,  (which 
with  some  difficulty  was  overcome,)  on  the  part  of  the  In- 


MEMOIRS,   &c.,  &c.  275 

dians,  to  bind  themselves  to  any  stipulations,  before  a 
knowledge  of  facts  and  circumstances  would  enable  them 
to  judge  of  the  advantages  or  disadvantages  of  the  dispo- 
sition the  government  of  the  United  States  wished  to  make 
of  them." 

Again,  in  the  same  letter,  Colonel  Gadsden  says,  "  The 
final  ratification  of  the  treaty  will  depend  upon  the  opinion 
of  the  seven  chiefs  selected  to  explore  the  country  west 
of  the  Mississippi  river.  If  that  corresponds  to  the  de- 
scription given,  or  is  equal  to  the  expectations  formed  of 
it,  there  will  be  no  difficulty  on  the  part  of  the  Seminoles. 
If  the  Creeks,  however,  raise  any  objections,  this  will  be 
a  sufficient  pretext,  on  the  part  of  some  of  the  Seminole 
deputation,  to  oppose  the  execution  of  the  whole  arrange- 
ment." The  Creeks  did  raise  objections.  The  Seminoles 
wanted  a  separate  country.  The  Creeks  refused  it,  and 
wished  them  to  live  with  them  in  common. 

Again,  the  treaty,  even  if  the  Seminoles  had  not  made 
known  their  objections  to  it — instead  of  having  been  passed 
through  the  forms  of  law  at  the  proper  time — was  not  rat- 
ified by  the  United  States  government,  and  its  validity 
acknowledged,  for  two  years  after  it  was  made.  It  was 
signed  on  the  9th  May,  1832,  and  not  ratified  till  1834 ; 
and  yet,  one  of  its  provisions  stipulated,  (that  is,  if  it  were 
finally  accepted  by  the  Seminoles,  which,  however,  it  never 
was,)  that  a  removal  of  one- third  of  their  population  should 
take  place  in  1833.  Not  only  did  this  delay  of  the  ratifi- 
cation occur,  but  it  was  not  for  some  time  after,  that  means 
were  appropriated  to  carry  it  into  effect.  It  was,  there- 
fore, vitiated  throughout — had  lost  every  spark  of  its  vi- 
tality— all  of  its  binding  force  upon  the  other  party — and 
was  celled  by  the  Indians,  in  derision,  "A  white  marts  trea- 
ty" And  yet,  in  a  talk  sent  to  them  by  President  Jackson, 
of  the  16th  February,  1835,  he  tells  them, "  I  have  ordered 
a  large  military  force  to  be  sent  among  you.  I  have  di- 
rected the  commanding  officer,  and  likewise  the  agent, 


276  MEMOIRS,   &c.,  &c. 

your  friend,  General  Thompson,  that  every  reasonable  in- 
dulgence be  held  out  to  you.  But  I  have  also  directed 
that  one-third  of  your  people,  as  provided  for  in  the  treaty, 
be  removed  during  the  present  season"  Now  the  treaty 
provided  for  no  such  thing.  It  provided  for  such  removal 
in  1833 — the  Indians  ratifying  it — but  not  in  1835.  The 
talk  proceeds — "  If  you  listen  to  the  voice  of  friendship 
and  truth,  you  will  go  quietly  and  voluntarily.  But  should 
you  listen  to  bad  birds,  that  are  always  flying  about  you, 
and  refuse  to  remove,  I  have  then  directed  the  command- 
ing officer  to  remove  you  by  force.  This  will  be  done" 

The  Indians,  however,  could  not  comprehend  the  justice 
of  this  attempt  to  enforce  upon  them  a  compliance  with 
obligations,  on  their  part,  that  did  not  exist.  Every  spe- 
cies of  outrage  was  committed  on  the  Indians,  the  details 
of  which  are  almost  too  shocking  to  be  recorded.  (Be- 
sides, by  the  then  existing  treaty  of  Fort  Moultrie,  they 
were  guarantied  in  their  right  to  continue  where  they 
were  for  twenty  years  from  its  date,  of  which  time  twelve 
years  then  remained  to  them.)  Formal  examinations  were 
made  into  the  causes  of  these  outrages,  and  the  results 
may  be  found,  as  also  the  details,  in  a  work  entitled  "  The 
War  in  Florida ;  being  an  Exposition  of  its  Causes,  and 
an  Accurate  History  of  the  Campaigns  of  Generals  Clinch, 
Gaines,  and  Scott " — "  By  a  late  Staff-Officer."  In  the 
straight-forward  testimony  of  the  Indians,  is  set  forth,  in 
one  place,  that "  while  six  of  them  were  encamped  togeth- 
er, a  party  of  whites  arrived,  took  their  guns  from  three  of 
them,  examined  their  packs,  and  commenced  whipping  them, 
and  the  Indians  ran  off,"  &c.,  &c.  At  another  place,  "  six 
other  Indians  were  at  a  camp.  A  party  of  white  men 
came  upon  that  camp,  and  began  to  whip  the  Indians?  when 
two  other  Indians  came  up,  and  commenced  firing  on  the 
whites.  The  arms  of  six  Indians  had  been  taken  from 
them,  and  stacked  against  a  tree.  The  six  unarmed  In- 
dians were  kept  confined  thirty-three  days,"  &c.,  &c. 


MEMOIRS,   &c.,  &c.  277 

They  were  robbed  of  their  money  and  their  negroes. 
Chiefs,  including  Micanopy,  their  principal,  were  broke 
by  the  agent,  for  refusing  to  emigrate.  Every  possible  in- 
dignity was  offered  them.  Osceola  was  put  in  irons. 
Many  were  reduced  to  the  greatest  distress  for  want  of 
provisions.  They  were  forced,  by  their  hunger,  to  go  out 
in  quest  of  subsistence.  "  On  one  of  these  occasions," 
says  the  author  I  have  referred  to,  "  three  of  the  Long 
Swamp  Indians  were  surprised,  and  two  of  them  secured, 
by  the  owner  of  the  land,  who  tied  them  by  the  hands  and 
feet  with  a  rope,  and  carried  them  to  his  barn,  where  they 
were  confined  without  sustenance  for  three  days,  unable  to 
extricate  themselves,  and  obliged  to  remain  in  one  position. 
Not  returning  to  their  homes,  their  friends  became  alarmed 
for  their  safety,  and  the  chief  of  the  town  where  they  re- 
sided went  forward  and  demanded  them.  Being  refused, 
he  returned  to  his  town,  and  taking  several  of  his  people 
with  him,  he  again  demanded  the  release  of  the  prisoners, 
and  was  again  refused,  with  a  threat  by  the  white  fellows, 
that  if  the  chief  dared  to  effect  their  release,  complaint 
should  be  entered  against  him. 

"  Upon  this,  the  whole  party  rushed  to  the  barn,  whence 
they  heard  the  moaning  of  their  friends ;  and  there  they 
beheld  a  most  pitiable  sight.  The  rope  with  which  those 
poor  fellows  had  been  tied,  had  worn  through  their  flesh ; 
they  had  temporarily  lost  the  use  of  their  limbs,  being  un- 
able to  stand  or  walk ;  they  had  bled  profusely,  and  had 
received  no  food  during  their  confinement.  The  owner 
of  the  barn  then  fired  upon  the  Indians,  and  slightly  wound- 
ed one  of  the  party ;  when  their  exasperation  attained  to 
such  a  height,  that,  in  retaliation  for  this  brutal  outrage, 
they  set  fire  to  the  barn,  and  would  not  permit  the  owner 
to  take  anything  therefrom ;  nor  did  they  leave  the  spot 
until  the  whole  was  consumed." 

"  These  outrages,"  proceeds  the  narrator,  "  continued 
to  increase  with  each  succeeding  week,  and  the  Indians, 


278  MEMOIRS,  &c.,  &c. 

discerning  the  hopelessness  of  their  situation,  at  once  con- 
cluded to  oppose  the  efforts  of  the  government,  and  call 
for  a  general  assemblage  of  the  nation." 

There  had  been  previous  meetings  between  the  agent 
and  the  chiefs;  eight  of  the  chiefs  and  sub-chiefs  had 
signed  a  paper  which  the  agent  had  prepared,  in  which  the 
validity  of  the  treaty  of  Payne's  Landing,  of  the  9th  May, 

1832,  as  also  that  of  Fort  .Gibson,  of  the  28th  March, 

1833,  was  acknowledged.     It  was  then  when  Micanopy, 
through  Jumper,  refused  to  abide  by  the  treaty,  that  his 
name  was  struck  from  the  council  of  the  nation,  as  also 
four  others.     It  is  not  possible  to  read  the  petitions  of 
these  Indians  to  be  saved  from  a  connexion  with  those 
western  Indians,  to  be  mingled  with  the  Creeks,  and  ex- 
posed to  the  treachery  and  thieving  habits  of  the  Pawnees, 
without  feelings  of  the  deepest  sympathy.     At  one  of  the 
councils,  convened  by  the  agent  to  press  upon  them  their 
removal,  Micanopy  said,  "  When  we  were  at  Camp  Moul- 
trie,  we  made  a  treaty ;  and  we  were  to  be  paid  our  annui- 
ties for  twenty  years.     That  is  all  I  have  to  say." 

Jumper  said,  "  At  Camp  Moultrie,  they  told  us  all  diffi- 
culties should  be  buried  for  twenty  years  from  the  date  of 
the  treaty  made  there,  (September  18th,  1823  ;)  that  after 
this,  we  held  a  treaty  at  Payne's  Landing,  before  the  twenty 
years  were  out,  (by  nine  years,)  and  they  told  us  we  might 
go  and  see  the  country,  but  that  we  were  not  obliged  to 
remove,  &c.,  &c.  When  we  went  to  see  the  land,  we  had 
not  sold  our  land  here,  and  we  were  told  only  to  go  and 
see  it.  The  Indians  there  steal  horses,  and  take  packs  on 
their  horses ;  they  steal  horses  from  the  different  tribes.  I 
do  not  want  to  go  among  such  people.  Your  talk  (ad- 
dressing the  agent,)  seems  always  good,  but  we  don't  feel 
disposed  to  go  west." 

Charley  Amathla  spoke,  and  said,  "  The  speakers  of  the 
nation  are  all  dead,  but  I  remember  some  of  their  words 
when  they  had  the  meeting  at  Camp  Moultrie.  I  was  not 


MEMOIRS,  &c.,  &c.  279 

there,  but  heard  that  we  should  be  at  peace,  and  that  we 
would  have  our  annuity  paid  for  twenty  years.  White 
people  have  told  me  that  the  treaty  at  Camp  Moultrie, 
which  was  made  by  great  men,  and  not  to  be  broken,  had 
secured  them  for  twenty  years ;  that  seven  years  of  that 
treaty  are  still  unexpired.  I  am  no  half-breed,  and  do  not 
lean  on  one  side.  If  they  tell  me  to  go,  after  the  seven 
years,  I  say  nothing.  As  to  the  proposition  made  us  by 
the  agent,  about  removing,  I  do  not  say  I  will  not  go,  but 
I  think  not ;  until  the  seven  years  are  out,  I  give  no  an- 
swer. My  family  I  love  dearly  and  sacredly.  I  do  not 
think  it  right  to  take  them  right  off.  Our  father  has  often 
said  to  me  that  he  loves  his  children,  and  they  love  him,  &c. 
I  do  not  complain  of  the  agent's  talk.  My  young  men 
and  family  are  all  around  me  ;  should  I  go  west,  I  should 
lose  many  on  the  path.  As  to  the  country  west,  I  looked 
at  it ;  a  weak  man  cannot  get  there ;  the  fatigue  would  be 
great ;  it  requires  a  strong  man.  I  hardly  got  there,  &c. 
If  I  know  my  own  heart,  I  think  I  am  true.  If  I  differ 
from  the  agent,  he  is  a  free  man,  and  has  his  right  to  talk. 
I  hope  this  talk  will  bring  all  things  right ;  that  hereafter 
we  may  all  live  well  together."  The  council  adjourned 
till  the  next  day ;  when  the  agent  said  he  was  ready  to  re- 
ceive their  answers  to  the  questions  he  submitted  yesterday. 

Holata  Micco  spoke — "  I  have  only  to  repeat  what  I 
said  yesterday,  and  to  say  that  the  twenty  years  from  the 
treaty  at  Moultrie  have  not  yet  expired.  I  never  gave  my 
consent  to  go  west.  The  whites  may  say  so ;  but  I  never 
gave  my  consent." 

Jumper — "  We  are  not  satisfied  to  go  until  the  end  of 
the  twenty  years,  according  to  the  treaty  at  Camp  Moul- 
trie," &c. 

Micanopy — "  I  say  what  I  said  yesterday — I  did  not  sign 
the  treaty." 

Agent — "  Abraham,  tell  Micanopy  that  I  say  he  lies  ;  he 
did  sign  the  treaty,  for  here  is  his  name." 


280  MEMOIRS,  &c.,  &c. 

Charley  AmatUa — "  The  agent  told  us  yesterday  we  did 
not  talk  to  the  point.  I  have  nothing  to  say  different  from 
what  I  said  yesterday.  At  Payne's  Landing,  the  white 
people  forced  us  into  the  treaty.  I  was  there.  I  agreed 
to  go  west,  and  did  go  west.  I  went  in  a  vessel,  and  it 
made  me  sick.  I  think  that  for  so  many  people,  it  would 
be  very  bad,"  &c.,  &c. 

At  a  previous  private  council  of  the  chiefs  and  others, 
Osceola  said,  "  My  brothers  !  The  white  people  got  some 
of  our  chiefs  to  sign  a  paper  to  give  our  lands  to  them,  but 
our  chiefs  did  not  do  as  we  told  them  to  do ;  they  did 
wrong.  We  must  do  right.  The  agent  tells  us  we  must 
go  away  from  the  lands  we  live  on — our  homes,  and  the 
graves  of  our  fathers — and  go  over  the  big  river  among  bad 
Indians.  When  the  agent  tells  me  to  go  from  my  home,  I 
hate  him,  because  I  love  my  home,  and  will  not  go  from  it. 

"  My  brothers !  When  the  Great  Spirit  tells  me  to  go 
with  the  white  man,  I  go ;  but  he  tells  me  not  to  go.  The 
white  man  says  I  shall  go,  and  he  will  send  people  to  make 
me  go.  But  I  have  a  rifle,  and  I  have  some  powder  and 
lead.  I  say  we  must  not  leave  our  homes  and  lands.  If 
any  of  our  people  want  to  go  west,  we  won't  let  them  ; 
and  I  tell  them  they  are  enemies,  and  we  will  treat  them 
so ;  for  the  Great  Spirit  will  protect  us." 

There  is  much  of  the  same  sort  of  proof  that  the  treaty 
of  Payne's  Landing  was  only  conditional,  as  well  as  of  the 
determined  spirit  of  the  Indians,  as  a  body,  to  resist  any 
attempt  that  might  be  made  to  compel  a  compliance  with 
its  alleged  provisions.  At  the  last  council  held  with  the 
chiefs,  the  agent,  General  Thompson,  said,  among  other 
things,  "  I  stand  up  for  the  last  time,  to  tell  you  that  you 
must  go ;  and  if  not  willingly,  you  will  be  compelled  to  go. 
I  should  have  told  you  that  no  more  annuity  will  be  paid 
to  you  here.  (Osceola  replied  that  he  did  not  care  wheth- 
er any  more  was  ever  paid.)  I  hope  you  will,  on  more 
mature  reflection,  act  like  honest  men,  and  not  compel  me 


MEMOIRS,   &c.,  &c.  28] 

to  report  you  to  your  father,  the  President,  as  faithless  to 
your  agreements." 

Osceola  said,  "  The  decision  of  the  chiefs  was  given ; 
that  they  did  not  intend  to  give  any  other  answer."  Mica- 
nopy  said,  "  I  do  not  intend  to  remove." 

It  was  at  this  "  last  council" — the  last,  in  more  ways 
than  one,  to  General  Thompson — that  this  fated  agent 
committed  an  act,  which,  like  the  spark  to  the  magazine, 
exploded  it.  I  give  the  narrative  as  it  has  been,  on  several 
occasions,  repeated  to  me,  not  from  my  personal  knowledge 
of  its  entire  correctness,  or  from  any  written  account  of 
it.  But  I  have  told  it  to  gentlemen  who,  by  the  part  they 
afterwards  took  in  the  Seminole  war,  and  from  their  acquain- 
tance with  the  circumstances  that  led  to  it,  should  be  enti- 
tled to  credit ;  and  they  all  recognized  the  statement  as  one 
which  was  generally  received  as  correct,  about  the  parts 
where  the  provocative  and  the  tragedy  were  enacted. 

It  was  at  this  "  last  council" — the  "  last  time"  that  Gen- 
eral Thompson  "  stood  up"  in  one — that  during  his  ad- 
dress, Osceola,  being  a  little  distant  from  the  speaker,  stood 
with  his  arms  folded,  eyeing  him  with  those  mingled  feel- 
ings of  reproach  and  resentment,  which  the  occasion  was 
so  well  calculated  to  produce ;  when,  being  observed  by 
General  Thompson,  he  became  indignant,  and  the  emigra- 
tion roll  being  open,  and  lying  on  the  table,  he  commanded 
Osceola  to  come  up  and  sign  it.  The  indignant  chief  said 
he  should  do  no  such  thing.  "  Tell  him,"  said  General 
Thompson,  addressing  the  interpreter,  "  that  I  have  a  talk 
from  General  Jackson  for  him  presently,  which,  when  he 
hears  it,  will  teach  him  better."  To  which  Osceola  replied, 
"  Tell  him  I  care  no  more  for  General  Jackson,  than  I  care 
for  him ;  but,"  seizing  his  knife,  and  rushing  up  to  the  ta- 
ble, said,  "  if  he  must  have  my  mark,"  driving  his  knife 
through  the  emigration  roll,  "  there  it  is  /"  when,  instantly, 
General  Thompson  ordered  him  seized  and  put  in  irons. 
The  order  was  forthwith  obeyed. 

VOL.  i.  36 


282  MEMOIRS,  &c.,  &c. 

Sometime  during  the  night,  and  after  Osceola  had  been 
some  hours  manacled,  and  shut  out  from  light  and  liberty, 
he  called  to  the  interpreter  and  said,  "  Go,  tell  my  father, 
if  he  will  take  these  off,  (his  irons,)  and  let  me  go,  I  will 
come  in  to-morrow,  (pointing  over  his  head  to  meridian,) 
when  the  sun  gets  up  there,  and  will  sign  the  paper,  and 
will  bring  with  me  one  hundred  who  will  sign  also."  The 
message  was  delivered ;  when  General  Thompson  con- 
gratulated himself  with  having  subdued  the  refractory 
chief,  and  ordered  him  to  be  set  at  liberty. 

True  to  his  promise,  Osceola  came  in,  at  twelve  o'clock, 
bringing  with  him  a  hundred  of  his  people,  all  of  whom 
signed  the  roll,  when  all  retired.  This  was  a  moment  of 
triumph  to  the  agent,  who,  it  is  due  to  his  memory  that  I 
should  state,  acted  in  all  this  matter,  not  because  he  ap- 
proved the  work  he  had  been  sent  to  do,  but  to  fulfil  the 
orders  of  his  superiors  at  Washington.  There  is  proof 
of  this  in  the  official  government  documents. 

The  roll  having  been  signed,  Osceola,  with  the  Indians 
he  had  brought  in,  retired  to  some  distant  and  out-of-the- 
way  place,  where  he  thus  addressed  them :  "  Go,  all  of 
you,  except  these  six,  on  the  trail  that  leads  to  Fort  King. 
Take  with  you  all  the  Indians  you  can  muster,  and  sleep 
not,  and  eat  not,  till  you  have  collected  a  strong  force,  and 
reached  about  midway  on  the  trail,  and  there  wait  my  ar- 
rival— having  your  rifles  and  knives  in  good  order,  and 
your  pouches  filled  with  powder  and  ball." 

They  all  retired,  except  those  Osceola  kept  about  his 
person.  To  these  he  said,  "  Never  be  out  of  sight  of  my 
finger ;  watch  me,  and  keep  near  me." 

They  sauntered  about  until  the  second  day  after  this, 
when  the  agent  went  to  dine  with  the  post-master.  Osce- 
ola kept  his  eye  on  him.  When  the  proper  moment  ar- 
rived, he  gave  the  signal  to  his  associates.  They  clustered 
about  him.  To  one  he  said,  "  Do  you  take  him,"  pointing 
to  one  of  the  party ;  to  another,  "  and  you  him,"  and  so 


MEMOIRS,  &c.,  &c.  283 

on,  till  he  had  assigned  a  victim  to  each,  when  he  added, 
"  leave  the  agent  to  me."  The  positions  being  taken,  the 
concerted  signal  was  given,  all  fired,  when  General  Thomp- 
son, and  those  who  were  with  him,  fell. 

Immediately  the  alarm  was  given — the  Indians  have 
killed  the  agent ;  and  so  of  the  others.  The  war-cry  went 
forth ;  Dade's  command  was  put  in  motion  for  Fort  King. 
Osceola  had,  meantime,  joined  his  comrades.  The  attack 
on  Dade  was  commenced,  and  every  man  of  it,  save  one, 
was  killed. 

Now  all  this  plan  of  attack,  both  at  the  agency,  and  on 
the  trail  to  Fort  King,  Osceola  contrived  while  he  was  in 
irons ;  and  it  was  a  double  revenge  that  he  meditated,  the 
joint  product  of  the  heavy  pressure  upon  him  and  his  peo- 
ple of  the  government  hand,  which  was  forcing  them  from 
their  country,  and  the  degradation  to  which  he  had  been 
subjected,  by  being  put  in  irons  and  in  prison.  Upon 
whom,  I  ask,  is  blood  thus  shed,  justly  chargeable  ? 

It  is  not  possible  to  contemplate  this  picture,  without 
experiencing  a  feeling  of  the  deepest  regret !  A  terrible 
retribution  awaited  the  resolve  of  the  administration  to 
expel  these  people  by  force.  It  was  little  thought  of,  that 
the  employment  of  it,  to  compel  acquiescence  to  the  terms 
of  a  treaty,  which  were  never  binding  upon  the  Indians, 
would  cost  some  thirty  millions  of  dollars,  and  lead  to  as 
lavish  a  waste  of  as  patriotic  blood  as  ever  the  earth  drank 
up,  and  that  a  train  of  disasters  would  follow,  through 
nearly  a  seven  years'  war,  reflecting  anything  and  every- 
thing upon  our  arms  and  country,  but  honor.  The  war  was 
alike  unjust,  inhuman,  and  inglorious.  But  the  agony  is 
over,  and  there  remains  no  remedy  but  to  study,  in  the  fu- 
ture, to  atone  for  the  evils  of  the  past.  The  Indians  are 
now,  nearly  all  of  them,  beyond  the  limits  of  our  States 
and  organized  Territories.  The  means  employed  in  plac- 
ing them  there,  which  have  been  resorted  to  for  the  last 
sixteen  years,  can  never  be  approved  by  the  good,  the  hu- 


284  MEMOIRS,  &c.,  &c. 

mane,  or  the  just.  And  yet,  the  Indians,  though  through 
so  much  tribulation  and  suffering,  and  amidst  such  accu- 
mulated wrongs,  are  not  only  in  a  far  better  condition  for 
their  tranquillity  and  peace,  than  when  surrounded  by  the 
whites,  and  in  the  midst  of  organized  States,  but  where, 
under  a  suitable  system,  and  one  altogether  adapted  to 
their  condition,  they  can  rise  in  the  scale  of  human  ad- 
vancement, to  a  level  with  those  at  whose  hands  they  have 
experienced  so  many  wrongs,  and  by  whose  agency  they 
have  been  made  to  endure  such  deep  sorrows. 

It  was  in  the  hope  of  awakening  the  public  mind  to  a 
proper  sense  of  the  duty  which  this  nation  owes  to  this 
persecuted  race,  that  I  conceived  and  executed  the  plan — 
in  part,  at  least — of  delivering  addresses  to  such  assem- 
blies of  the  people  as  might  be  induced  to  hear  me.  The 
favor  with  which  these  addresses  were  received,  from 
Maine  to  Maryland,  and  my  inability,  owing  to  certain 
causes,  of  travelling  the  entire  rounds  of  the  country  with 
these  messages — in  connexion  with  a  plan  for  the  preser- 
vation of  the  remnants  of  the  Indian  race,  and  their  ad- 
vancement into  the  higher  privileges  of  their  nature — has 
led  me,  in  connexion  with  the  advice  of  friends,  to  publish 
them,  and  by  this  means  send  them  round  the  entire  coun- 
try. They  will  form  the  second  part  of  this  volume. 


END  OF  MEMOIRS,  ETC.,  ETC. 


APPENDIX. 


(A.)      j 

To  the  Editors  of  the  National  Intelligencer. 

GENTLEMEN — I  have  a  few  remarks  to  offer  to  the  public  through  the  medium  of 
your  paper,  on  the  speech  delivered  in  the  United  States  Senate  by  Mr.  Benton,  of 
Missouri,  on  the  amendment  offered  by  him  to  the  bill  to  abolish  the  Indian  factory 
system,  as  it  appears  printed  in  the  National  Intelligencer  of  the  10th  inst.  I  of- 
fer no  apology  for  this,  as  my  object  is  to  give  to  the  people,  by  this  public,  and  only 
direct  route  to  their  observation,  the  proper  explanations  of  several  positions  which, 
it  appears,  were  assumed  in  that  speech,  and  which  the  people  have  a  right  to  ex- 
pect me  to  explain. 

The  object  avowed  by  Mr.  Benton,  is  to  "  look  into  the  practical  operation  of  the 
iactory  system."  He  proposes  to  examine,  first,  the  conduct  of  the  superinten- 
dent in  purchasing  goods  ;  second,  the  conduct  of  the  factors  in  selling  them ; 
third,  the  conduct  of  the  superintendents  in  selling  furs  and  peltries.  The  speci- 
fications are  : — 

First.  In  purchasing  goods  not  adapted  to  the  Indian  trade. 

Second.  In  purchasing  goods  of  bad  quality. 

Third.  In  purchasing  at  improper  places,  and  at  extravagant  prices. 

In  support  of  the  first  specification,  Mr.  Benton  read,  from  a  printed  document, 
sundry  articles  of  supplies  which  had  been  sent  by  the  superintendent  to  the  fac- 
tories ;  among  these,  "  eight  gross  of  jews-harps  ;"  all  which,  and  other  articles, 
he  states  are  "  adapted  to  a  common  country  store,  but  unknown  to  the  Indian 
trade." 

The  only  reply  I  have  to  make  to  this  is,  that  every  article  enumerated  by  Mr. 
Benton,  even  including  jews-harps,  was  sent  to  the  Indians  in  compliance  with 
their  own  request,  which  request  is  forwarded,  annually,  by  each  factor  stationed 
among  them  respectively,  under  the  title  of  "  a  list  of  articles  wanted  for  this 
trading-house  for  this  year."  This  annual  call  is  always  complied  with,  so  far  as 
the  superintendent  may  be  able  to  command  the  articles  enumerated.  It  is  sub- 
mitted to  the  public,  which  of  the  two,  Mr.  Benton  or  the  Indians,  is  best  ac- 


286  APPENDIX. 

quainted  with  the  wants  and  wishes  of  the  latter.  If  the  Indians  do  call  for  the 
articles  which  Mr.  Benton  has  asserted  are  "  unknown  to  the  Indian  trade,"  then 
it  is  fair  to  infer  that  Mr.  Benton  is  not  correctly  informed  on  the  subject ;  and 
that  they  do  thus  call,  and  for  the  very  articles  excepted  against  by  Mr.  Benton,  I 
herewith  furnish  the  proof,  for  your  inspection,  in  the  original  annual  requisitions 
made  from  the  wilderness. 

Specification  2.  "  In  purchasing  goods  of  bad  quality."  It  is  admitted  that  the 
factories  do  contain  goods  of  bad  quality,  and  that  there  are  some  articles  to  be 
fo.und  in  the  stock  comprising  them,  not  even  suited  to  the  trade.  But  this  was 
explained  by  the  Superintendent  of  Indian  Trade,  in  the  hearing  of  Mr.  Benton, 
and  afterwards  written  and  printed  for  the  information  of  the  committee.  For  the 
information  of  the  public,  who  have  a  right  to  know,  exactly  what  their  public  ser- 
vants are  about,  I  will,  in  as  few  words  as  possible,  explain  the  charge  included 
in  this  specification. 

It  is  known  to  everybody,  that,  about  the  close  of  the  war,  merchandise  of  every 
description  was  scarce  and  dear.  The  articles  required  for  our  Indian  supplies 
partook  of  this  universal  scarcity,  and  exorbitancy  of  price.  It  was,  however, 
determined,  and  very  properly,  by  the  then  incumbent,  to  procure  the  best  articles 
the  country  could  furnish,  and  upon  the  best  terms.  They  were  accordingly  pro- 
cured. It  was  thought  better  to  send  the  Indians  cloth,  although  some  of  it  should 
be  made  of  hair,  than  to  let  them  perish  for  lack  of  something  to  cover  them.  It 
is  also  known  that,  soon  after  the  war,  an  influx  of  merchandise  overrun  our 
country.  It  was  the  business  and  duty  of  the  superintendent  of  the  trade  to  go 
into  this  abundant  market,  get  the  supplies,  regardless  of  what  was  on  hand,  and 
forward  them  forthwith.  It  was  accordingly  done.  It  follows,  as  a  very  natural 
consequence,  that,  whilst  these  better,  cheaper,  and  more  suitable  goods  were  on 
hand,  the  Indians  would  prefer  them  to  the  old  stock.  Hence,  the  unsuitable  ar- 
ticles, or  a  good  many  of  them,  remain  undisposed  of.  Let  this  be  taken  in  ex- 
planation of  the  numerous  references  made  by  the  three  gentlemen,  (among  them 
Mr.  Ramsay  Crooks,  agent  of  the  American  Fur  Company,')  who  were  before  the 
committee  of  the  Senate,  and  who,  as  that  committee  know,  said  nothing  impli- 
cating the  honor  or  integrity  of  any  one  concerned,  but  afterwards  wrote  to  Mr. 
Benton  and  the  committee.  It  is  from  these  written  statements,  that  Mr.  Benton 
has  made  such  copious  extracts  in  his  speech.  I  will  just  stop  here  to  remark 
upon  the  charge  of  remnants  and  cut  goods  being  sent  to  the  factories.  It  were 
strange  if  remnants  were  not  made  at  the  factories ;  and,  therefore,  doubtless 
remnants  have  been  seen  there.  And  it  were  equally  strange,  if  a  business  of 
some  twenty  years  had  not  resulted  in  the  accumulation  of  at  least  the  usual 
quantity  of  remnants.  The  existence  of  remnants  at  the  factories  is,  therefore, 
admitted.  So,  also,  is  it  admitted  that  "  cut  goods"  are  sometimes  sent  among  the 
supplies.  But  could  there  be  no  reason  assigned  for  this,  but  one  worthy  of  being 
brought  in  to  justify  a  specification  involving  an  abuse  of  an  honorable  trust  ?  It 
seems  not !  I  will,  therefore,  furnish  it.  It  often  happens  that  an  entire  piece  of 
an  article  is  more  than  a  supply  for  any  one  factory,  and  that  it  will  serve  three 
or  four.  When  this  is  the  case,  the  piece  is  cut  into  as  many  parts.  Sometimes, 
too,  lots  of  goods  are  bought  at  auction  ;  among  these,  there  will  be,  occasionally, 
"  cut  goods."  But,  under  no  other  circumstances,  are  cut  goods  bought  for  the 
factory  supplies. 


APPENDIX.  287 

Specification  3.  "In  purchasing  at  improper  places,  and  at  extravagant 
prices." 

Here,  the  item  of  shot,  amounting  to  $105,  appears  in  the  front,  to  support  this 
specification ;  and  which  derives  its  chief  odiousness  from  having  been  purchased 
in  Georgetown,  D.  C.,  and  from  having  cost,  as  Mr.  Benton  asserts,  more  than  it 
could  have  been  purchased  for  in  St.  Louis.  Seven  cents,  he  states  to  have  been 
the  price  there  in  1820 ;  whereas,  as  the  printed  documents  show,  it  cost  here  ten 
dollars  per  hundred  weight,  which  is  less  than  eight  and  a  half  cents  per  pound. 
Now  for  the  facts. 

First,  then,  owing  to  the  nature  of  the  transportation  of  dry  goods,  a  wagon-load 
of  which  often  cannot  be  made  to  weigh  the  amount  which  it  is  essential  to  bar- 
gain for,  (to  wit,  3,000  weight,)  shot,  and  other  heavy  articles,  are,  therefore,  added, 
which,  whether  added  or  not,  never  increases  or  diminishes  the  cost  of  the  trans- 
portation as  far  as  Pittsburgh.  Thus,  nothing,  on  account  of  transportation,  is 
added  to  the  cost  of  the  price  of  shot  and  axes,  corn  hoes,  knives,  nails,  frying- 
pans,  and  the  rest,  as  enumerated  by  Mr.  Benton,  to  Pittsburgh.  There,  the  arti- 
cles, in  company  with  the  body  of  the  supplies,  go  on  to  their  several  destinations ; 
but  shot,  BE  IT  REMEMBERED,  always,  (if  purchased  here,)  to  the  lakes,  and  never, 
as  has  been  charged  upon  this  office,  to  St.  Louis.  But,  suppose  this  article  to 
have  been  purchased  at  St.  Louis,  and  forwarded  over  the  route  pointed  out  by 
Mr.  Benton ;  this  office  had  no  agencies  on  that  route.  It  would  require  their 
appointment,  before  the  shot  could  be  got  along  with  safety,  or  at  all ;  and  this 
implies  new  commissions.  But  would  it  be  worth  while,  even  admitting  the  price 
of  shot  to  be  a  few  cents  cheaper  at  St.  Louis  than  at  Georgetown,  to  organize  a 
new  route,  just  to  convey,  annually,  from  the  Herculaneum  establishment,  $105 
worth  of  this  article  ?  But,  then,  I  have  before  me  a  bill  of  shot,  purchased  at  St. 
Louis,  by  James  Kennerly,  Esq.,  (brother-in-law  to  Governor  Clark,  both  well 
known,  no  doubt,  to  Mr.  Benton,)  which  bill  is  dated  14th  August,  in  this  same 
year,  (to  wit,  1820,)  in  which  is  charged  two  hundred  pounds  of  shot,  at  eleven 
cents  per  pound.  In  Georgetown,  it  cost  not  quite  eight  and  a  half  cents,  and 
nothing  for  its  transportation  to  Pittsburgh.  The  inference  is,  Mr.  Kennerly  be- 
ing an  honest  man,  of  which  I  have  not  the  least  reason  to  doubt,  Mr.  Benton 
was  not  correctly  informed  as  to  the  price  of  shot  in  St.  Louis,  in  1820. 

Next  comes  the  article  of  gunpowder.  Many,  and  no  doubt  just  eulogiums, 
are  passed  upon  the  manufacture  of  this  article  in  the  West.  But,  suppose  it 
really  was  the  best  powder  in  the  world,  yet,  if  those  for  whom  the  purchase  was 
to  be  made,  (having  tried  it,  as  the  Indians  have  the  powder  of  the  West,)  direct 
their  organ  of  communication  to  the  Superintendent  of  the  Indian  Trade,  to  ask 
him  to  send  the  kmd  which  used  to  be  sent,  the  presumption  is,  there  can  arise 
out  of  this  case  no  very  serious  charge  against  the  Superintendent  of  Indian 
Trade  for  complying.  The  gunpowder  of  the  West  is,  no  doubt,  very  good ;  but 
that  is  no  reason  why  the  Indians  should  not  prefer  Dupont's..  That  they  do,  and 
that  they  have  requested  to  have  it  sent  to  them,  I  refer  for  proof  to  documents  in 
the  office  of  Indian  Trade,  and  to  Mr.  Sibley,  of  Fort  Osage,  who  is  now  in 
Washington.  But  let  us  compare  the  price,  with  that  which  it  has  been  found 
necessary  to  pay  at  St.  Louis.  For  Dupont's  best  FF  glazed  rifle  powder,  I  pay 
twenty-two  cents  per  pound.  I  have  a  bill  now  before  me,  dated  "  St.  Louis,  Oc- 
tober 1,  1820,"  in  which  is  a  charge  of  four  hundred  pounds  best  gunpowder,  at 


288  APPENDIX. 

forty-five  cents  per  pound.  In  this  same  bill  is  charged  five  hundred  and  twenty- 
nine  pounds  of  tobacco,  at  sixteen  and  two-thirds  cents  per  pound.  Mr.  Benton 
excepts  to  the  price  paid  by  the  Superintendent  of  Indian  Trade,  for  this  same 
kind  of  tobacco,  at  Pittsburgh,  though  it  cost  there  only  seven  cents  per  pound ; 
and  says, "  in  Kentucky"  it  could  be  had  for  two  and  three  cents.  If  so,  it  must  be 
for  the  leaf  tobacco,  and  that  is  not  suited  to  the  trade  ;  or,  if  Mr.  Benton  means 
plug,  or  manufactured  tobacco,  then  everybody  knows  it  cannot  be  bought  for 
those  prices.  Hence  Mr.  Benton  is  not  correctly  informed  in  relation  to  the  price 
of  tobacco. 

I  enclose  you  the  original  bills  for  those  articles.  It  is  best,  in  these  times, 
when  appeals  are  made  to  the  law  and  the  testimony,  and  when  even  these  are 
not  considered  as  being  sufficient,  to  put  such  matters  to  rest  by  facts  and  docu- 
ments. 

Next  comes  the  sale  of  deer-skins,  and  the  letter  from  Mr.  George  Astor,  of 
New  York,  complaining  that,  because  of  this  private  sale,  he  could  not  get  a 
chance  to  bid.  I  will  just  remark,  that  deer-skins  are  a  perishable  article.  They 
require  to  be  sold  immediately,  else  what  the  worms  leave,  the  expenses  are  sure 
to  devour.  From  the  factories  on  the  Sulphur  Fork  of  Red  River,  and  Fort  Con- 
federation, on  the  Tombigbee,  a  considerable  quantity  of  this  article  was  on  its 
way  to  Mobile  and  New  Orleans.  I  wrote  to  New  Yorfc,  to  my  agent  there,  to  be 
informed  of  the  state  of  that  market  for  those  articles.  From  Philadelphia,  I  re- 
ceived offers  from  two  houses,  and  got  the  price  of  the  Orleans  market.  I  sold 
to  the  gentlemen  who  offered  most,  AS  THE  PRINTED  DOCUMENTS  BEFORE  THE  SENATE 
WILL  TESTIFY.  But,  in  addition  to  the  extra  price  which  I  obtained,  I  inserted  a 
condition  in  the  contract,  which  provided,  that,  in  the  event  of  the  skins  having 
left  New  Orleans  and  Mobile  before  the  purchasers'  agent  could  receive  them,  the 
freight,  &c.,  was  to  be  paid  by  the  purchasers.  This  saved  the  cost  of  freight  on 
nearly  $8,000  worth,  which  had  actually  left  Mobile  before  the  agent  could  arrest 
their  departure.  To  have  delayed  selling  a  month  longer,  might  have  involved 
the  loss  of  the  whole  amount ;  and  it  would  have  required  more  than  that  time  to 
have  notified  the  public  of  a  public  sale,  when,  by  a  combination  of  purchasers, 
the  result  might  have  been  very  different  from  that  which  has  been  realized.  The 
commissions  for  selling,  and  storage,  and  all  such  charges,  are  understood  to  mean 
something  when  applying  especially  to  the  New  Orleans  market.  The  letters, 
and  contract,  and  everything  belonging  to  this  sale,  were  furnished  the  committee, 
and  may  be  seen  and  judged  of,  by  referring  to  the  printed  documents  of  February 
11,  1822,  No.  60. 

As  to  the  remarks  implicating  the  Georgetown  market,  as  unsuited  to  the  sale 
of  furs  and  peltries,  and  the  contrast  drawn  between  it  and  the  market  at  St. 
Louis,  I  am  prepared  to  demonstrate,  by  actual  sales  which  have  been  made  in 
Georgetown  for  ten  years,  at  least,  that1  it  has  produced  higher  prices  than  were 
giving  at  any  other  point  in  the  Union,  at  the  periods  when  the  sales  were  made. 
But  I  have  an  evidence  more  directly  in  point.  Mr.  Kennerly  sold,  of  the  parcel 
which  was  destined  to  this  market,  and  which  it  was  intended  should  constitute 
part  of  the  annual  sales  of  this  last  fall,  and  without  instructions,  (but  doubtless 
with  the  best  intentions,)  rackoon,  muskrat,  and  beaver,  for  $1.128  50,  which 
would  have  brought  here,  at  the  rates  at  which  the  rest  were  sold,  $2,078  81, 
after  deducting  the  price  of  transportation!  This  is  comment  enough  on  the 


APPENDIX.  289 

comparative    prices,   at    least    between   this  market  and    the  market  at  St. 
Louis.* 

Next  comes  the  item  of  transportation.  Mr.  Benton  was  "  constrained"  to  be- 
lieve that  the  carriage  of  the  goods  from  Georgetown  to  St.  Louis  cost  more  than 
I  had  reported,  to  wit :  from  four  and  a  half  to  nine  cents  per  pound— varying 
with  the  demand  for  the  means  of  transportation.  He  states  his  reason  for  this 
belief  to  be  derived  from  the  exhibit  furnished  by  me  in  1820,  and  which  is  to  be 
seen  in  Vol.  II.  of  the  State  papers  of  that  year,  in  which  he  finds  that  between 
the  years  1811  and  1820,  $110,543  had  been  paid  for  transporting  $466,874  worth 
of  supplies.  Now,  it  might  have  occurred  to  Mr.  Benton  that  there  was  a  period 
of  nearly  three  years,  between  1811  and  1820,  when  the  cost  of  carriage  was 
enormously  enhanced  by  the  occurrences  of  those  times ;  and  which,  falling  into 
the  average  of  ordinary  times,  would  swell  the  amount  above  the  customary  lim- 
its. But  everybody  knows,  including  the  wagoners  themselves,  that  what  once 
cost  $300  to  be  conveyed  to  Pittsburgh,  can  be  got  there  now,  and  in  ordinary 
times,  for  less  than  one-fourth  of  this  sum. 

Mr.  Benton  proceeds  by  conveying  the  imputation,  that  large  profits  have  been 
charged  on  goods  furnished  on  account  of  treaties,  annuities,  and  presents ;  and 
asks,  in  this  interrogatory  of  implication — "  and  where  are  the  pro/its?"  In  1818 
he  says,  $165,611  96  worth  of  goods  was  sent  to  the  Indians  in  presents.  How 
much  of  this  went  through  the  factories,  he  professes  he  does  not  know,  but  says  "it 
must  have  been  large."  NOT  A  DOLLAR  of  the  presents  of  that  year  went  through 
the  factories  ;  and  what  went  from  this  office  direct  to  the  agents  (not  the  factors) 
of  the  Indian  Department  for  distribution,  amounted  to  $50,185  47,  and  on  which 
the  cost  of  transportation  only  was  charged  to  the  original  cost  prices,  as  the 
books  of  this  office  will  show,  and  also  the  returns  made  to  the  office  of  the  Sec- 
ond Auditor.  The  disbursements  of  the  Indian  Department  for  1818,  on  Indian 
account,  Mr.  Benton  puts  down  at  $559,367  47.  Of  this  I  know  nothing,  fur- 
ther, at  least,  than  the  requisitions  on  me  for  that  year  go ;  and  these  amounted  to 
$90,260  47 ;  and  this  was  all  of  that  sum,  except  the  pay  to  the  superintendent, 
factors,  and  clerks,  that  went  through  the  hands  of  the  Superintendent  of  Indian 
Trade.  No  annuities  are  paid  through  the  factories,  save  only  the  annuity  to  the 
Osages  of  the  Missouri,  and  this  is  at  their  own  request,  and  the  amount  of  it  is 
$1,500, 

It  is  true,  the  law  as  referred  to,  Vol.  IV.,  page  342.  makes  it  the  duty  of  the 
Superintendent  of  Indian  Trade  to  purchase  and  transmit,  on  orders  from  the  De- 
partment of  War,  all  goods  required  for  annuities,  treaties,  and  presents.  But  he 
provides  no  more  than  the  orders  specify — and  of  late,  since  so  much  of  this  trans- 

*  Mr.  Benton  says,  "  Georgetown  is,  perhaps,  the  last  place  in  the  world  that  any  per. 
son  would  think  of  for  a  fur  market:"  and,  in  proof  of  this,  says,  "the  superintendent 
sold,  during  the  year  1821,  eleven  hundred  and  eight  pounds  of  beaver  for  $2,115  02, 
a  fraction  less  than  two  dollars  per  pound.  At  St  Louis,  beaver  sells  for  three  dollars 
per  pound."  It  is  true,  the  quantity  mentioned  by  Mr.  Benton  was  sold  during  that  year,, 
and  produced  the  sum  stated ;  but  more  than  two-thirds  of  the  quantity  was  southern 
beaver,  a  great  proportion  of  which  is  little  better  than  dog's  hair.  Of  the  quantity  sold, 
however,  only  four  hundred  and  sixty-seven  pounds  were  sold  in  Georgetown,  and  pro~ 
duced  $1,396  15,  nearly  three  dollars  per  pound:  that  portion  which  was  good  northern 
beaver,  averaged  more  than  four  dollars  per  pound.  The  rest  was  sold  in  New  York, 
New  Orleans,  and  Philadelphia — at  New  York,  by  J.  L.  Dias :  at  New  Orleans,  by 
Lieutenant  Symington ;  at  Philadelphia,  by  Price  dc  Morgan. 
VOL.  i.  37 


290  APPENDIX. 

mission  has  been  made  in  specie,  (a  most  impoverishing  process  to  the  Indians,) 
a  very  small  part  of  the  supplies  go  through  the  hands  of  the  superintendent. 
But  whatever  is  furnished  by  him,  is  furnished  at  cost,  with  the  charge  of  trans- 
portation, alone,  added.  I  refer  to  the  office  of  the  Second  Auditor,  where  the 
original  invoices  may  be  seen. 

So,  then,  Mr.  JBenton  is  no  less  in  error  as  to  the  amount  of  goods  which  passes 
through  this  office,  than  as  to  the  profits  which  have  been  added.  If  an  Indian 
agent  want,  for  the  purposes  of  his  agency,  any  articles  to  give  to  the  Indians,  or 
for  any  other  purpose,  and  if  fifty  per  cent,  were  charged  upon  them,  which  it  is 
admitted  has  been  the  case,  the  profits  go  only  out  of  one  of  the  government 
pockets  into  the  other.  And  the  quarter  returns  from  the  factories  account  for 
such  addition  in  the  same  satisfactory  manner  as  they  account  for  other  sales. 

As  head  of  the  Trade  Department,  and  responsible  for  its  support,  I  have  no 
more  option  to  give  goods  out  of  the  factory,  or  to  let  them  go  at  cost,  to  an  In- 
dian agent,  than  I  have  to  any  other  person.  The  capital  of  the  trade  is  to  be 
preserved  ;  and  my  business  is  with  that. 

Much  error  has  originated  by  blending  the  Indian  Department,  and  its  opera- 
tions, with  the  Indian  Trade  Office.  And  yet  it  should  seem,  every  legislator,  at 
least,  should  know  the  distinction,  and  at  what  points  to  apply  the  respective  ope- 
rations of  these  two  distinct  branches  of  the  government. 

Mr.  Benton,  in  stating  the  amount  of  business  which,  he  says,  was  done  at  sev- 
eral of  the  factories,  must  have  confined  himself  solely  to  the  abstracts,  and  omit- 
ted to  read  the  letter  which  accompanied  them.  The  abstracts  set  forth  the  amount 
"received,"  and  no  more;  but  the  letter  explains  that  what  had  Taeen  "received" 
was  not  all  that  had  been  taken  in  at  the  factories  in  that  year.  Mr.  Benton's 
call  embraced  the  terms — "  how  much  of  each  article  has  been  RECEIVED  by  the  Su- 
perintendent of  Indian  Trade  in  1821."  Of  course,  only  what  had  been  "  re- 
ceived" was  put  down  in  the  abstract.  But  let  the  letter  explain  this. 

It  remains  now  for  me  to  remark  upon  the  manner  of  purchasing  the  supplies. 
It  embraces  calls  for  information  of  the  markets  of  our  principal  cities  ;  replies  to 
some  of  which  were  sent  in  to  the  committee,  and  printed  ;  reference  to  which  is 
made,  to  show  how  far  the  imputation  of  "  purchases  at  improper  places,  and  at  ex- 
travagant prices,"  is  merited.  I  will  just  add  an  extract  from  a  letter  received  by 
me  from  Governor  Cass,  to  whom  forty  odd  thousand  dollars'  worth  of  goods  had 
been  sent  in  one  year,  to  show  his  opinion  of  this  branch  of  the  subject. 

"  /  have  been  much  gratified  to  find  the  goods  sent  here  for  the  Indians,  are  very 
well  selected.  Perfect  justice  has  been  done.  I  am  informed  by  per  sons  in  the  Indian 
Department,  that  such  a  selection  was  never  sent  to  this  country.  In  fact,  I  cannot 
conceive  that  they  could  be  better  suited  to  the  objects  for  which  they  are  sent." 

In  justice  to  the  gentlemen  engaged  in  the  arduous  duties  of  factors,  it  is  due  to 
them,  that  I  should  assure  the  public  that  I  have  no  cause  to  doubt  their  honor,  in- 
tegrity, or  ability ;  against  whom  no  charge  rests,  except  the  vague  rumors,  from 
the  disagreeableness  of  which  no  officer  of  the  government,  if  he  be  a  disbursing 
officer,  need  ever  console  himself  with  the  hope  of  being  free.  For  myself,  I 
ask  no  favors  in  relation  to  the  trust  with  which  I  have  been  honored,  but  jus- 
tice, only. 

I  find,  on  looking  over  what,  I  have  thus  very  hastily  written,  that  I  have  not  no- 
ticed, in  this  place,  the  charge  of  selling  goods  to  persons  other  than  Indians. 


APPENDIX. 


291 


This  was  fully  explained  in  the  printed  reports  and  documents,  and  may  be,  in  a 
condensed  form,  explained  thus  for  the  public. 

First.  It  was  thought  good  policy  to  open  a  way  to  get  rid  of  unsuitable  stores. 
This  was  attempted  by  granting  the  privilege  to  the  factors  to  sell  to  white  people 
any  articles  not  needed  for  Indian  trade,  at  an  advance  of  15  per  cent,  above  the 
Indian  prices. 

Second.  Outfits  to  Indians,  who  requested  them,  and  to  others  who  it  was  known 
needed  them,  was  authorized,  under  special  directions,  on  all  the  points  necessary 
to  guard  the  Indians  from  the  fraudulent  speculations  of  those  to  whom  these  sup. 
plies  were  entrusted.  By  this  policy,  the  sphere  of  the  public  business  was  en- 
larged, and  rendered  thereby  more  useful.  Reference  is  made  to  the  documents 
furnished  the  committee  of  the  Senate,  by  this  office,  and  which  are  printed,  and 
which  explain,  fully,  this  branch  of  alleged  abuses. 

I  will  close  these  remarks,  by  putting  before  the  public  an  abstract  of  the  ac- 
count of  property  on  hand  at  this  office,  and  at  the  several  factories,  as  made 
to  the  committee  of  the  Senate,  on  a  call  made  by  it  for  this  information,  of  the 
27th  of  December,  1821.  It  will  be  seen  that  the  capital  being  no  more  than 
$236,630  39,  and  the  property,  at  the  original  cost  prices,  amounting  to  $295,632  36, 
(distributed  thus,  at  the  period  when  the  statement  was  made  out,  to  wit :  30th  of 
September,  1821 ;)  the  gain  is  $59,001  97 — the  property  was  thus  distributed  in 
September  last : 

Amount  merchandise  in  the  stores  of  the  Superintendent  of  Indian 

Trade,  .  .  .  .  .  ^  $30,489  88 
Furs  and  peltries  in  store,  and  on  their  way  to  the  Superinten- 
dent's office,  .  ..  '  .v,  'V  .  .  .  12,50000 
Cash  on  hand,  .'  .  "'  ;  '  ' ';  '.-'.  .•  •  •  5,483  00 
Bills  receivable,  .  .  '  .  V.  .>•."  •  •  8,744  94 
Balances  on  the  Superintendent's  books,  ,,  '»  ,  •  6,455  10 


Am't  of  merchandise  in  the  hands  of  the  transport  agent  at  St.  Louis, 
Am't  of  property  on  hand  at  the  several  factories,  as  per  their 
inventory,  viz. : 
Prairie  du  Chien,    .        .     -  .         .        .        .      $52,041  77 


$63,672  92 
10,100  00 


Fort  Edwards,     .... 
FortOsage,    . 

Branch  of  do 

Green  Bay,     ..... 

Chicago, 

Arkansas, 

Choctaw,     . 

Red  River,     .        . 

Merchandise  on  the  way  to  factories, 


15,205  76 
26,015  25 
6,057  98 
22,521  31 
13,164  33 
14,074  09 
40,613  10 
15,736  41 
16,429  34 


221,859  44 

$295,632  36 

I  have  presented  this  view  of  the  trade  fund  to  the  public,  merely  as  a  set-off  to 
these  words  at  the  close  of  Mr.  Benton's  speech—"  that  the  capital  be  returned 


292  APPENDIX. 

to  the  public  Treasury,  so  far  as  it  can  be  found"  from  which  many  persons  in 
this  "  good-natured  age"  might  infer  Mr.  Benton's  meaning  to  be,  that  it  was  not  to 
be  found  at  all. 

I  have  now  performed  what  I  conceive  to  be  an  act  of  justice  to  the  people. 
They  have  had  spread  before  them  the  speech  on  which  I  have  endeavored  to  cast 
the  proper  light — and  if  there  be  errors  in  whatever  may  be  given  to  the  public, 
however  innocent  may  be  the  intention  of  the  speaker,  or  praiseworthy  his  mo- 
tive, it  is  but  justice  that  they  should  be  corrected.  It  needs  only,  in  a  country 
like  ours,  where  every  citizen  is  born  with  the  inheritance  of  freedom,  and  where 
the  love  of  liberty  and  equal  rights  has  not  yet  degenerated  into  the  mere  shadow 
of  this  mighty  substance,  to  place  any  subject  before  the  people  in  its  true  light,  to 
insure  a  just  decision  upon  its  merits. 

I  do  not  intend  that  anything  I  have  written  should  be  interpreted  an  attempt 
to  arrest  any  decision  which  the  wisdom  of  Congress  may  lead  that  body  to  make, 
in  relation  to  the  continuance  or  discontinuance  of  the  public  Indian  trade.  I 
have  no  such  object.  My  views  have  been  given  in  official  reports  on  that  sub- 
ject. I  will  just  add,  that  my  opinions  have  never  been  disguised — they  have 
been  frankly,  and  I  think  now,  as  I  stated  in  an  official  report  in  1818,  that,  unless 
the.  proper  support  be  given  to  the  public  trade,  it  were  as  well  to  discontinue  it. 
Nevertheless,  no  man  doubts  that  trade,  properly  regulated,  is  the  best,  and,  indeed, 
the  only  efficient  power  for  the  control  and  guidance  of  our  Indian  population,  at 
least  in  their  present  state  of  improvement. 

I  trust  the  practice  and  policy  of  this  office  have  been  now  freed  from,  at  least, 
many  of  the  imputations  which  have  been,  with  so  little  ceremony,  and  with  less 
justice,  heaped  upon  them. 

THOMAS  L.  MCKJENNEY,  S.  I.  T. 
Office  of  Indian  Trade,        >) 
Georgetown,  April  26^,  1822.    $ 

(B.) 

The  charges  preferred  against  me  were,  generally,  as  I  was  told,  anonymous. 
My  accusers  were  never  produced.  The  charges  embraced,  in  a  general  way, 
the  implication  against  me,  of  "  favoritism ;"  of  a  "  corrupt  abuse  of  my  trust," 
in  purchasing  supplies  of  merchants  in  the  District  of  Columbia,  instead  of  from 
merchants  in  the  larger  cities,  where  better  and  more  suitable,  and  cheaper  goods, 
it  was  alleged,  could  be  had ;  and  that  I  had  been  led,  as  was  asserted,  to  this 
favoritism,  by  collusions  with  those  with  whom  I  dealt,  and  the  being  paid  certain 
douceurs,  as  the  price  of  my  alleged  corrupt  contracts. 

The  parties  charged  to  be  in  collusion  with  me  were  named  by  these  anony- 
mous libellers,  and  were  summoned,  together  with  myself,  before  the  Committee 
on  Indian  Afiairs  of  the  House  of  Representatives,  when  the  following  examina- 
tion into  all  the  charges  took  place.  (See  Gales  &  Seaton's  collection  of  State 
Papers — Vol.  II.  of  Indian  Affairs,  pages  418  to  427,  inclusive.) 

Examination  of  John  Cox. 

Question  1.  Has  Mr.  McKenney  participated,  directly  or  indirectly,  in  any  gains 
made  by  you  on  any  merchandise  applied  for  the  Indian  trade,  annuities,  or  presents? 
Answer.  No,  he  has  not. 


APPENDIX.  293 

Ques.  2.  Have  you  at  any  time  made  presents  to  him,  or  to  any  member  of  his 
family ;  and  if  so,  when,  and  to  what  extent  ? 

Ans.  Not  to  my  recollection. 

Ques.  3.  Have  you  lent,  or  advanced  to,  or  paid  for  him,  any  moneys,  or  for 
any  of  his  family ;  and  if  so,  when,  and  to  what  amount  ? 

Ans.  No. 

Ques.  4.  Do  you  know  any  other  person  who  has  furnished  supplies  for  the  In- 
dian trade,  &c.,  with  whom  Mr.  McKenney  has  participated  in  any  manner  in  any 
gain  therefrom ;  or  who  has  lent  or  paid  for  him,  or  any  of  his  family,  moneys ;  or 
who  has  made  presents  to  him,  or  any  of  his  family  ? 

Ans.  I  do  not. 

Ques.  5.  Do  you  know  of  any  store,  or  mercantile  establishment,  in  which 
Mr.  McKenney  was  concerned,  at  the  time  of,  or  at  any  time  subsequent  to,  his 
appointment  as  superintendent ;  if  so,  state  what  you  know  of  the  same. 

Ans.  I  believe,  but  am  not  positive,  that  he  was  in  partnership  with  a  Mr.  Hall, 
who  had  been  living  with  him  in  Washington  city  before  he  received  the  appoint- 
ment of  superintendent ;  but  not  to  my  knowledge  afterwards. 

Testimony  of  John  Cox,  continued. 

I  have  been  an  importing  merchant  during  the  time  Colonel  McKenney  has 
been  superintendent.  My  importations  generally  have  been  (since  1817)  with  a 
view  to  the  Indian  trade.  I  have  supplied  Colonel  McKenney  with  goods  to  the 
amount  of  about  $50,000  annually.  I  sold  the  goods  in  currency,  without  refer- 
ence to  sterling  cost.  Considered  I  sold  them  as  low  as  they  could  be  purchased 
at  fair  sale.  I  have  not  made  Mr.  McKenney  any  compensation,  in  any  way, 
with  a  view  to  obtain  the  trade.  I  have  endorsed  some  notes  for  Mr.  McKenney, 
and  Mr.  McKenney  has  likewise  endorsed  for  me.  I  am  now  on  Mr.  McKenney's 
paper  as  endorser,  but  am  secured  by  his  property. 

Fifty  per  cent,  on  the  sterling  is  equal  to  150  per  cent.  Maryland  currency; 
that  is,  suppose  £100  sterling  sells  in  this  country  for  £150  sterling,  that  is  equal 
to  £250  Maryland  currency.  JOHN  Cox. 

Second  examination  of  Colonel  Cox  by  Colonel  McKenney. 

Question  1 .  How  long  have  you  been  a  merchant  in  Georgetown  ? 

Answer.  Since  June,  1798. 

Ques.  2.  When  did  you  first  turn  your  attention  to  the  nature  of  the  demand 
for  Indian  supplies,  occasioned  by  the  removal  of  the  office  from  Philadelphia  to 
Georgetown  ? 

Ans.  I  think  it  was  in  the  year  1809. 

Ques.  3.  Did  you  not  sell,  especially  during  the  two  or  three  years  before  I  was 
appointed,  large  amounts  to  my  predecessor  ? 

Ans.  I  did. 

Ques.  4.  Did  not  your  increasing  ability  to  meet  the  demands  of  this  office 
grow  out  of  your  increasing  knowledge  of  the  peculiar  articles  in  which  it 
dealt? 

Ans.  It  did. 

Ques.  5.  Was  there  ever  and  even  the  least  evidence  of  partiality  shown  you  ? 

Ans.  Not  that  I  know  of. 


294  APPENDIX. 

Ques.  6.  On  the  contrary,  did  you  not  think  the  rigor  of  the  inspection,  and 
the  closeness  of  the  comparisons  I  made,  were  sometimes  too  pointed  ? 

Ans.  I  did. 

Ques.  7.  Did  there  not,  on  at  least  one  occasion,  words  pass  between  us,  by 
reason  of  my  strictness,  in  which  you  conceived  I  questioned  too  closely  your 
statements  ? 

Ans.  There  was  one  occasion,  within  my  perfect  recollection,  in  which  Mr. 
McKenney  and  myself  differed  as  to  the  relative  value  of  some  goods,  in  which  I 
thought  that  Mr.  McKenney  was  too  tenacious  of  his  own  opinion  and  judgment. 

Examination  of  J.  W.  Bronaugh. 

J.  W.  Bronaugh,  chief  clerk  in  the  store  of  the  superintendent  at  Georgetown, 
says :  That,  when  Colonel  McKenney  took  the  store  as  superintendent,  an  inven- 
tory was  taken  of  all  the  goods  on  hand,  agreeably  to  the  original  invoices.  That 
the  goods  purchased  since  Colonel  McKenney  has  been  superintendent  have  been 
generally  bought  at  Georgetown,  of  Colonel  Cox,  and  of  Mr.  Wright,  who  were 
importers.  Besides  these,  goods  to  the  amount  of  from  two  to  three  thousand  dol- 
lars per  year  have  been  bought  at  each  of  the  stores  of  Messrs.  J.  &  J.  Cockran, 
W.  Corcoran  &  Co.,  R.  H.  Fitzhugh,  G.  Gaither,  and  some  others  occasionally. 
That,  besides  those,  goods  were  purchased  for  the  trade  at  New  York  and  in  Phil- 
adelphia. That,  when  Mr.  McKenney  was  appointed  superintendent,  he  was  in 
partnership  with  a  Mr.  Hall,  on  Pennsylvania  Avenue ;  that,  on  his  appointment, 
Mr.  McKenney  dissolved  partnership  with  Mr.  Hall.  Does  not  know  that  Mr. 
McKenney  has,  since  his  appointment,  had  any  interest  with  Mr.  Hall  in  trade, 
or  with  any  other  person.  That,  since  the  dissolution,  Mr.  McKenney  purchased 
from  Mr.  Hall  an  invoice  of  from  ten  to  twelve  thousand  dollars'  worth  of  goods, 
which  were  bought  by  Hall  at  Baltimore,  on  memorandum  of  Mr.  McKenney. 
Knows  of  no  other  goods  being  bought  of  Hall  by  superintendent.  The  goods 
from  Mr.  Cox,  importer,  were  bought  without  reference  to  sterling  cost.  Those 
from  Wright  were  generally  bought  by  the  original  invoice.  Thinks  the  goods 
of  Wright  cheaper  than  those  purchased  from  Cox,  but  not  so  good  in  quality. 
Thinks  the  goods  purchased  from  the  merchants  in  Georgetown,  who  were  not 
importers,  but  who  bought  their  goods  in  Philadelphia,  Baltimore,  and  New  York, 
as  cheap  as  those  bought  of  Cox  and  Wright.  Understood  that  Mr.  Cox  was  the 
endorser  of  Mr.  McKenney  on  notes  to  be  discounted  at  the  banks.  Has  seen 
such  notes,  but  does  not  know  that  this  induced  Mr.  McKenney  to  purchase  from 
him  more  than  from  others. 

JER.  W.  BRONAUGH. 

Second  examination  of  J.  W.  Bronaugh,  by  Colonel  McKenney. 

Question  1.  Were  not  due  pains  taken,  by  correspondence  and  intercourse 
with  merchants,  to  ascertain  yearly  the  state  of  the  markets,  before  I  decided  to 
buy  the  annual  supplies? 

Answer.  I  think  all  necessary  pains  were  taken. 

Ques.  2.  Was  there  ever,  according  to  your  judgment,  an  article  bought  of 
any  man,  when,  after  taking  the  pains  to  ascertain  it,  that  article  could  have  been 
bought,  combining  its  suitableness  and  cheapness,  for  a  less  price  of  another  ? 

Ans.  I  have  no  recollection  that  any  article  was  purchased  when  it  was  known 
it  could  be  had  cheaper  from  another. 


APPENDIX.  295 

Ques.  3.  Do  you  not  believe  that  the  Georgetown  market  was  the  best,  for 
several  years  past,  (say  since  1815  and  1816,)  for  Indian  goods,  of  any  other 
market  in  the  United  States,  especially  for  the  great  and  leading  articles  ? 

Ans.  I  believe  it  was  the  best  for  blankets  and  strouds. 

Ques.  4.  Was  it  not  the  practice  of  the  office  to  encourage  competition,  by 
giving  samples  to  merchants,  and  every  information  touching  the  kind  of  goods  in 
which  we  dealt  ? 

Ans.  It  was. 

Ques.  5.  Was  it  not  the  business  of  the  office  to  provide,  as  near  as  it  was 
possible,  and  transport,  the  articles  enumerated  in  the  annual  calls  of  the  factors  ? 

Ans.  It  was. 

Ques.  6.  Did  you  not,  whilst  packing  in  the  spring  of  1816,  make  out  the  list 
of  articles  enumerated  in  my  letter  to  Mr.  Edward  Hall,  of  the  23d  April,  1816, 
and  report  it  to  me  as  being  then  wanted  ?  And  were  not  the  articles,  including 
the  blankets,  which  he  offered,  in  all  respects  suitable  and  valuable  goods,  and 
wanted  at  the  time  ? 

Ans.  I  think  I  made  out  the  list,  and  I  know  the  articles  were  very  suitable, 
and  as  cheap  as  others. 

Ques.  7.  When  the  articles  arrived,  did  you  not  inspect  them,  and  report  on  all 
of  them  that  were  bought  that  they  were  within  the  limits,  were  good  goods,  and 
suitable  ? 

Ans.  I  did. 

Ques.  8.  Have  not  invoices  been  sent,  year  after  year,  from  some  of  the  older 
factories,  containing  the  same  quantity  of  the  same  articles,  which,  from  their 
having  been  bought  so  long,  and  being  unsuited  to  the  trade,  remained  on  hand  ? 

Ans.  I  believe  nearly  so. 

Ques.  9.  Was  not  the  advance  of  from  sixty-six  and  two-thirds  to  one  hun- 
dred per  cent.,  the  tested  advance  which  had  been  adopted  by  my  predecessor, 
essential,  in  the  general  operations  of  the  establishment,  to  sustain  the  capital 
from  diminution  ? 

Ans.  I  think  sixty-six  and  two-thirds  per  cent,  was  the  maximum  authorized 
by  General  Mason. 

Ques.  10.  Did  not  Colonel  Cox  show  a  good  deal  of  feeling,  and  often  declare, 
upon  his  honor,  that  he  was  not  dealt  as  fairly  by  as  he  should  be,  by  reason  of  the 
scrutiny  which  was  exercised  in  buying  goods  of  him  ? 

Ans.  He  did. 

Ques.  11.  Was  there  not  one  occasion  in  which  he  told  you  he  and  I  had  had 
some  words  because  of  my  exceptions  to  his  goods,  and  perhaps  questioning  too 
closely  his  statements  ? 

Ans.  He  did. 

Ques.  12.  Did  you  not,  by  my  instructions,  weigh,  and  examine,  and  adjust 
the  parcel  of  goods  referred  to  in  my  letter  to  Colonel  Cox  of  the  10th  April, 
1821,  and  graduate  the  prices  to  a  former  purchase,  to  which  this  purchase  re- 
ferred ? 

Ans.  I  did. 

Ques.  13.  Was  not  the  Georgetown  market  for  furs  and  peltries  considered  by 
General  Mason,  and  did  you  not  believe  it  to  be  the  best  in  the  United  States  ? 

Ans.  It  has  always  been  considered  by  me  the  best ;  and  I  have  heard  many 


296  APPENDIX. 

dealers  in  the  articles  from  New  York,  Philadelphia,  and  Baltimore,  express  the 
same  opinion.  I  know  General  Mason  believed  it  to  be  one  of  the  best. 

Ques.  14.  Did  we  not  uniformly  realize  more  in  Georgetown,  for  the  sales 
made  there,  than  was  given  at  the  same  periods  in  any  market  in  the  United 
States  ? 

Ans.  I  believe  so. 

Ques.  15.  Did  not  the  purchasers  attending,  from  Boston  to  Richmond,  unite 
in  this  declaration  ? 

Ans.  They  did. 

Ques.  16.  Did  not  Mr.  Kennerly,  agent  at  St.  Louis,  in  violation  of  my  instruc- 
tions, sell  furs  and  other  articles  at  St.  Louis,  in  the  year  1821,  to  wit :  625  rac- 
koon  skins,  contained  in  packs  Nos.  56,  57,  58,  64,  and  65,  from  the  Prairie  du 
Chien  factory  ;  2,500  muskrat  skins,  in  packs  Nos.  68,  69,  70,  72,  and  73,  also 
from  Prairie  du  Chien ;  80  wolf  skins ;  2,360  pounds  feathers ;  214  mats  ;  81 
pounds  beaver  fur  ;  66  pounds  deer  skins  ;  which,  after  deducting  transportation 
from  St.  Louis  to  this  place,  would  have  sold  for  $3,597  11,  according  to  the 
sale  in  Georgetown,  to  which  they  were  destined  ? 

Ans.  Mr.  Kennerly  did  sell  the  furs  at  St.  Louis,  in  violation  of  his  instruc- 
tions, and  at  lower  prices  than  were  obtained  for  them  at  Georgetown. 

Ques.  17.  And  does  not  the  said  Kennerly  now  stand  charged  with  said  amount 
on  the  books  of  the  Indian  Office  ? 

Ans.  He  does. 

Ques.  18.  Did  I  ever,  to  the  best  of  your  knowledge  and  belief,  apply  a  single 
cent,  more  or  less,  of  the  public  money  in  my  charge,  to  my  own  private  affairs  ? 

Ans.  Not  to  my  knowledge. 

Ques.  19.  If  I  had  so  applied  it,  were  not  the  checks  and  rules  in  the  ac- 
counting system,  which  had  been  established,  such  as  would  have  detected  it  ? 

Ans.  They  would. 

Ques.  20.  Did  I  not  make  it  one  of  these  rules  never  to  fill  up  or  number  a 
check ;  but,  when  payment  was  to  be  made,  was  it  not  made  the  duty,  and  did  not 
you,  or  the  book-keeper,  or  copying  clerk,  fill  up  the  check,  number  it,  and  hand 
it  to  me  for  my  signature,  and  then  yourselves  retire  with  it  and  apply  it  ? 

Ans.  We  did. 

Ques.  21.  Was  it  not  the  rule  of  the  office  to  write  in  the  body  of  each  check, 
and  on  the  margin  of  the  check-book,  what  each  check  was  for,  and  to  whom 
paid? 

Ans.  It  was. 

Ques.  22.  Were  ever  any  payments  made,  except  by  checks  thus  prepared  ? 

Ans.  Never,  to  my  knowledge  or  belief. 

Ques.  23.  Were  any  moneys  ever  kept,  except  in  bank,  more  than  from  ten  to 
twenty  dollars  ?  And  did  not  the  messenger  receive  this  by  a  check  ?  and  was 
he  not  held  accountable  for  its  disbursement  in  paying  of  dray  and  cart  hire,  and 
other  incidental  expenses? 

Ans.  There  never  was. 

A.  B.  Lindsley's  statement. 

A.  B.  Lindsley,  agent  to  close  the  factory  concern  at  Chicago,  says :  The  sam- 
ples exhibited  were  taken  by  him  from  the  goods  received  from  Mr.  Varnum ;  and 


APPENDIX.  297 

the  prices  affixed  to  them  were  those  charged  in  the  inventory.  That  the  goods 
received  from  Governor  Woodbridge,  at  Detroit,  were  equally  high  charged,  and 
worse  goods  than  received  from  Mr.  Varnum,  and  worse  damaged.  Is  of  opinion 
that  the  goods  received  by  him  were  generally  charged  from  thirty  to  one  hundred 
per  cent,  higher  than  they  were  worth  in  the  Atlantic  cities  in  1822.  This  opin- 
ion is  confirmed  by  comparison  with  goods  bought  by  Indian  traders  in  New  York, 
in  the  spring  of  1822,  as  well  as  by  his  previous  knowledge  of  the  market.  A 
penknife,  now  shown  to  the  committee,  was  charged  at  seven  dollars  per  dozen, 
which  was  purchased  in  1820,  by  the  invoice,  as  recognized  by  Mr.  Varnum,  and 
which  was  not  worth  more  than  four  dollars  at  private  sale  in  Philadelphia  in 
1816.  A.  B.  LINDSLEY. 

Second  examination  of  Mr.  Lindsley,  by  Colonel  McKenney. 

Question  1 .  Were  you  ever  engaged  in  Indian  trade  ? 

Answer.  Never,  except  in  settling  the  United  States'  factory  business. 

Ques.  2.  How  much  should  a  three  point  northwest  blanket  weigh,  to  be  good  ? 
and  how  long  and  how  wide  should  it  be  ? 

Ans.  I  do  not  know. 

Ques.  3.  Do  you  know  how  long  the  goods  you  have  reported  so  unfavorably 
of  were  in  the  factory,  the  business  of  which  you  went  to  close ;  and  by  whom 
they  were  sent — whether  by  me  or  by  my  predecessor  ? 

Ans.  I  do  not. 

Ques.  4.  Did  you  not  assign  as  a  reason  why  the  goods  were  sacrificed  at  De- 
troit, that  of  a  combination  among  the  purchasers  ? 

Ans.  It  is  probable ;  but  I  consider  they  generally  brought  their  present  value. 
But  combinations  existed,  I  believe,  among  the  merchants,  which  I  resisted  all  I 
could. 

Ques.  5.  Do  you  know  whether  the  samples  you  have  exhibited  to  the  commit- 
tee, of  calicoes  and  baftas,  were,  or  were  not,  from  the  fag  ends  of  these  goods  ? 

Ans.  I  do  not  know  that  they  were. 

Ques.  6.  Did  you  not  sell  some  of  the  goods  at  cost  ?  Ana  how  much  more 
than  cost  ?  Of  what  articles  ? 

Ans.  I  do  not  now  recollect  the  articles,  but  some  of  the  goods  sold  at  Chicago 
brought  more  than  cost,  and  others  brought  the  cost.  Some  of  them  were  not 
high ;  the  flag  handkerchiefs,  for  instance. 

J.  B.  Varnum's  statement. 

Jacob  B.  Varnum  produced  several  invoices  received  from  Mr.  McKenney. 
The  first  for  merchandise  forwarded  from  Philadelphia,  in  May,  1816,  amounting 
to  JC315  Is.  9$d.  sterling,  on  which  an  advance  of  33£  per  cent,  was  charged. 
Second,  for  merchandise  forwarded  from  Pittsburgh,  in  1816,  being  heavy  articles, 
amounting  to  $495  33.  Third,  for  merchandise  forwarded  by  J.  W.  Bronaugh, 
by  order  of  the  superintendent,  to  Mr.  Wooley,  at  Pittsburgh,  to  be  forwarded  to 
Chicago,  amounting  to  $4,464  53 ;  one  per  cent,  advance  charged  as  usual. 
Several  other  invoices  were  produced,  none  of  which  state  from  whence  the  goods 
were  purchased. 

Several  samples  of  cloth,  calico,  &c.,  taken  from  the  goods  at  Chicago  by  A. 
B.  Lindsley,  were  shown  Mr.  Varnum.     He  could  not  recognize  the  samples,  but 
is  of  opinion  that  the  green  cloth,  from  which  the  sample  is  said  to  be  taken,  was 
VOL,  i.  38 


298  APPENDIX. 

purchased  in  1815,  by  General  Mason;  the  calicoes  in  1818,  and  the  blue  cloth 
in  1820,  by  Mr.  McKenney.  He  was  instructed,  generally,  to  sell  goods  from 
66f  to  100  per  cent,  advance,  but  much  was  left  to  his  discretion.  Finding  he 
could  not  get  that  advance  on  the  old  stock  of  goods,  he  applied  to  Mr.  McKenney 
for  other  instructions,  who  stated,  in  return,  that  his  (Varnum's)  situation  would 
best  enable  him  to  judge  of  the  propriety  of  reducing  the  prices,  and  gave  discre- 
tionary power  to  sell  at  such  prices  as  the  nature  of  the  case  required,  or  to  that 
effect.  Mr.  Varnum  was  not  bred  a  merchant ;  was  factor  at  Sandusky  a  short 
time  before  the  war,  and  since  the  war  had  been  at  Chicago ;  has  had  no  other 
practical  knowledge  of  mercantile  transactions  than  was  acquired  in  those  ca- 
pacities ;  was  in  the  habit  of  supplying  Indian  agents  with  goods  from  the  factory ; 
same  profit  as  to  Indian  purchasers.  Furnished  Mr.  Jouett,  in  one  quarter,  he 
thinks,  about  $1,800  worth,  but  usually  not  more  than  from  $75  to  $150  in  a 
quarter;  sold  to  officers  and  soldiers  such  articles  as  were  not  in  immediate  de- 
mand for  the  Indians.  The  powder  received  from  the  superintendent  at  $15  70 
was  accompanied  by  a  letter  from  him,  dated  October  29,  1817,  now  produced, 
which  shows  it  was  purchased  during  the  war. 

JACOB  B.  VARNTJM. 

Second  examination  of  Mr.  Varnum,  by  Colonel  McKenney. 

Question  1 .  Were  not  the  goods  sent  you  by  me,  in  general,  good  and  valuable 
goods? 

Answer.  They  were. 

Ques.  2.  After  you  selected  the  old  and  damaged  goods  for  General  Cass,  were 
not  those  which  remained  on  hand  good  and  valuable  goods,  and  suited  to  Indian 
trade? 

Ans.  They  were. 

Ques.  3.  Were  they  not,  generally,  those  sent  by  me? 

Ans.  They  were,  generally.  JACOB  B.  VARNUM. 

John  Hersey's  statement. 

I,  John  Hersey,  resident  at  Georgetown,  late  factor  at  the  Choctaw  trading- 
house,  in  the  State  of  Alabama,  testify  and  say:  That  in  October,  1819, 1  was 
appointed  factor  at  said  trading-house,  and  continued  to  act  in  that  capacity  to 
October,  1822 ;  that,  on  entering  on  the  business  at  said  house,  as  near  as  I  now 
recollect,  the  amount  of  goods  delivered  over  to  me  by  my  predecessor  was  about 
$14,000  ;  many  of  which  goods  were  so  much  damaged,  or  so  unsaleable,  as  to 
render  it  impossible  to  sell  more  than  $2,000  or  $3,000,  probably,  of  them  during 
the  time  I  was  factor. 

During  the  time  I  was  factor,  I  received,  as  near  as  I  now  recollect,  about 
$12,000  by  the  year,  all  which  came  to  me  through  the  medium  of  Mr.  T.  L. 
McKenney  ;  about  one-sixth  of  which  came  from  New  Orleans  and  Mobile ;  such 
as  coffee,  sugar,  lead,  and  salt ;  the  residue  were  from  Columbia  District  and 
New  York.  When  we  received  the  goods  at  said  house,  we  generally  received 
accompanying  invoices.  I  then  thought  most  of  the  articles  were  of  a  fair  price, 
and  certainly  of  a  good  quality ;  except,  in  a  few  instances,  some  were  damaged 
on  their  passage.  From  Colonel  McKenney  I  received  instructions  to  add  from 
66 f  to  100  per  cent,  to  the  invoice  prices ;  and  the  sales,  on  an  average  for  the 
whole  three  years,  were  above  80  per  cent,  advance  on  the  invoice  prices.  In 


APPENDIX.  299 

payment  of  these  things  sold,  I  received  deer-skins,  furs,  beeswax,  tallow,  and 
cash.  The  nett  gains  to  government  during  the  whole  three  years  were  between 
$8,000  and  $9,000,  after  paying  freight  on  such  articles  as  were  received  from 
Mobile,  and  besides  a  remuneration  of  myself  and  all  others  employed  there. 

When  I  took  charge  of  the  house,  I  think,  as  near  as  I  now  can  recollect,  the 
amount  of  outstanding  debts  due  the  government  was  upwards  of  $13,000,  not 
more  than  $1,000  of  which  were  probably  collected  while  I  was  there;  and  I 
now  am  of  opinion  that  one-third  of  the  remaining  $12,000  may  be  collected. 

I  presume  a  majority  of  the  debtors  to  government,  when  I  went  there,  after- 
wards traded  with  me,  many  of  whom  might  deliver  me  peltry  and  other  things  to 
an  amount  as  great  as  the  debts  then  due  from  them  severally ;  each  one,  how- 
ever, took  other  goods  to  an  equal,  and  sometimes  greater  amount ;  so  that,  in 
most  instances,  the  old  debts  remained  on  the  books,  uncancelled  and  unliquidated. 

JOHN  HERSEY,  Late  Factor  C.  T.  H. 
Mr.  Hersetfs  second  examination,  by  Colonel  McKenney. 

Question  1.  Was  there  not  in  the  Choctaw  factory,  when  you  took  charge  of 
it,  a  large  quantity  of  old  and  unsuitable  goods  ? 
Answer.  There  was. 

Ques.  2.  Did  I  not,  in  my  letters,  direct  that  they  should  be  disposed  of  at  re- 
duced prices,  and  on  long  credit,  provided  you  could  get  unexceptionable  security  ? 
Ans.  I  was  requested  by  you  to  dispose  of  the  old  arid  damaged  goods,  I  think, 
at  reduced  prices,  and  on  long  credits,  provided  such  security  could  be  obtained. 

Ques.  3.  Were  not  the  goods  which  you  received  of  me  in  general  suitable  and 
fairly  charged  ?  and  did  you  not  do  out  of  them  your  principal  business  ? 

Ans.  To  the  best  of  my  knowledge,  they  were  charged  at  fair  prices ;  they  were 
of  good  quality  ;  and  out  of  them  I  did  the  principal  business  while  there. 

James  Kennerly's  statement. 

I,  James  Kennerly,  of  St.  Louis,  do  testify  and  say :  That,  about  nine  years 
ago,  I  was  appointed  transportation  agent  for  the  United  States  at  St.  Louis,  and 
have  transported  all  Articles  from  said  St.  Louis  to  Fort  Edwards,  and  to  Prairie 
du  Chien,  on  the  Mississippi ;  Fort  Osage,  on  the  Missouri ;  and,  within  the  last 
year  or  two,  to  Marie  Decine.  Among  the  articles  transported  were  large  quan- 
tities of  powder  and  tobacco.  In  November,  1820,  Colonel  T.  L.  McKenney  or- 
dered into  my  hands  forty  packages  of  goods,  supposed  for  the  Indian  trade,  and 
the  same  are  still  in  my  possession  unopened ;  and  last  spring  I  received  the 
amount  of  $1,100,  or  thereabouts,  in  goods  sent  to  me  by  Robert  B.  Belt,  United 
States  factor,  from  Fort  Armstrong.  Colonel  McKenney  never  gave  me  any  di- 
rections as  to  the  disposal  of  these  forty  packages ;  but  he  told  me  they  were  pur- 
chased for  the  Indian  annuities  of  the  Chickasaw  tribe  ;  however,  as  they  preferred 
specie,  he  agreed  to  take  them  again  to  the  trade  department.  Four  years  ago,  or 
thereabouts,  I  received  several  packages  of  goods  sent  to  me  by  J.  W.  Johnson, 
United  States  factor  at  Prairie  du  Chien,  which  he  considered  as  unsaleable  in  the 
Indian  trade.  I,  by  direction  of  Colonel  McKenney,  sold  them  at  auction  at  St. 
Louis,  and  they  went  off  at  a  great  sacrifice,  bringing,  from  the  best  of  my  recol- 
lection, not  more  than  half  invoice  cost  or  price.  Among  the  said  articles  sold, 
were  coarse  strouding,  a  large  quantity  of  printed  cotton  shawls  and  of  Madras 
handkerchiefs,  a  few  pairs  of  morocco  shoes,  and  a  large  number  of  gun  screws. 


300  APPENDIX. 

All  the  furs  and  peltries  which  I  sold  at  St.  Louis  were  sold  at  a  profit,  without 
selection ;  but  Colonel  McKenney  was  dissatisfied  at  the  sales  made  by  me  at  St. 
Louis,  and  directed  lhat  the  said  furs  and  peltries  might  be  sent  by  me  to  George- 
town. Accordingly,  I  sold  only  a  small  quantity  at  St.  Louis,  and  forwarded  the 
residue  to  Georgetown,  which  I  could,  without  selection,  have  sold  at  a  handsome 
profit  at  St.  Louis.  As  to  the  goods  at  factories,  Messrs.  Johnston,  Belt,  and  Sib- 
ley,  told  me  they  sold  at  sixteen  per  cent,  advance  on  the  cost  and  carriage.  Three 
or  four  years,  the  fall  supplies,  intended  for  the  Indian  trade,  did  arrive  so  late  in 
'  the  season  at  St.  Louis,  that,  in  consequence  of  it,  they  could  not  be  made  to 
reach  their  place  of  destination  till  spring ;  by  reason  of  which,  the  goods  sus- 
tained damage,  and  the  advantages  of  the  trade  with  the  Indians  were  not  reali- 
zed ;  though  Colonel  McKenney,  on  being  informed  of  it,  expressed  his  surprise, 
and  said  the  goods  were  sent  in  season,  and  requested  me  to  ascertain  the  reasons 
of  the  delay,  in  order  that  a  prosecution  might  be  commenced  against  the  freighter. 

JAMES  KENNERLY. 

Examination  of  Mr.  FitzhiLgh. 

Question  1.  How  long  have  you  been  clerk  and  assistant  packer  in  the  Indian 
Office? 

Answer.  Between  fourteen  and  fifteen  years. 

Ques.  2.  Were  not  the  heavy  articles  generally  purchased  at  St.  Louis  and 
Pittsburgh  ?  or,  when  here,  were  they  not  always  put  in  with  light  loads,  which 
weighed  less  than  the  weight  for  which  payment  must  have  been  made,  whether 
they  had  been  sent  or  not  ? 

Ans.  Yes. 

Ques.  3.  Were  not  the  supplies  always  sent  off  from  the  office,  by  the  way  of 
St.  Louis,  in  season  ? 

Ans.  They  were. 

Ques.  4.  Have  you  not  copied  many  severe  letters  from  me  to  Mr.  Kennerly, 
complaining  of  his  inattention  to  their  transportation,  with  assurances  that  I  could 
not,  with  all  my  good  opinion  of  his  integrity,  permit  the  Indian  supplies  to  be  so 
delayed  ? 

Ans.  I  have. 

Ques.  5.  Did  not  Mr.  Kennerly  reply,  on  one  occasion,  that  he  had  not  been  as 
attentive  as  he  ought  to  have  been,  and  that  he  had  trusted  to  others,  but  would 
in  future  be  more  vigilant  ? 

Ans.  I  think  he  did. 

Ques.  6.  Did  you  help  to  pack  the  calicoes  and  cotton,  samples  of  which  Mr. 
Lindsley  has  produced  ? 

Ans.  I  recollect  having  packed  the  knives  and  calicoes. 

Ques.  7.  Are  they  fair  samples  ? 

Ans.  I  do  not  know. 

Ques.  8.  Would  you  consent  either  to  buy  or  sell  by  such  samples  ? 

Ans.  I  think  the  samples  are  rather  too  small  to  judge  of  the  quality  of  the 
goods. 

Ques.  9.  Have  you  examined  the  invoices  in  regard  to  these  goods  ? 

Ans.  I  have.  The  calicoes  sent  to  Chicago  in  1818,  at  forty-five  cents,  were 
purchased  in  Philadelphia ;  and  the  knives  in  Georgetown,  of  Wharton  &  Grindage. 


APPENDIX.  301 

Mr.  W,  stated  that  the  knives  he  sold  to  Mr.  McKenuey  at  seven  dollars  a  dozen, 
he  had  retailed  at  eighty-seven  and  a  half  cents  each. 

M.  FITZHUGH. 

After  the  examination  of  the  witnesses,  Colonel  McKenney  addressed  the  chair- 
man thus : 

Mr.  Chairman — I  have,  by  your  permission,  looked  over  the  several  depositions 
of  the  gentlemen  examined  by  the  committee  the  other  day,  under  the  resolution 
of  the  House  of  Representatives  of  the  14th  instant,  "  instructing  the  committee 
to  inquire  whether  any,  and  if  any,  what  abuses  have  been  committed  by  the  late 
superintendent  of  Indian  trade,  (Colonel  Thomas  L.  McKenney,)  in  the  purchase 
or  sale  of  goods  under  the  several  laws  formerly  regulating  the  Indian  trade,  with 
power  to  send  for  persons  and  papers  ;"  and  I  have  submitted  to  the  same  gentle- 
men, to-day,  such  interrogatories  as  appeared  to  me  to  have  a  bearing  upon  the 
subject  of  the  present  inquiry. 

I  beg  leave  to  trouble  the  committee  with  a  few  remarks,  not  because  I  have 
discovered  anything  in  any  of  the  statements  going  to  sanction,  in  the  smallest 
degree,  the  imputations  which  led  to  this  inquiry,  but  because  the  occasion  having 
been  furnished  by  others,  (I  do  not  mean  the  committee,)  in  the  expectation  of 
detecting  something  in  my  official  transactions  which  would  tarnish  my  reputation, 
I  cannot  consent  to  let  it  pass  without  exhibiting  such  proofs  as  shall  not  only  es- 
tablish my  claims  to  the  confidence  of  the  government  under  which,  for  six  years, 
I  was  in  the  exercise  of  an  important  and  responsible  trust,  (at  least  so  far  as  the 
duties  connected  with  that  trust  are  concerned ;)  but,  by  disclosing  the  principles 
which  governed  me  in  the  discharge  of  my  duties  as  a  public  officer,  place  my  in- 
tegrity before  the  eyes  of  the  committee,  of  the  Congress,  and  the  world,  in  the 
same  light  in  which  I  have  always  had  the  happiness  to  contemplate  it  myself. 

It  is  certainly  very  unpleasant  even  to  appear  to  be  one's  own  eulogist,  but  I 
trust  to  the  nature  of  this  inquiry  to  furnish  the  apology. 

It  may  be  proper  for  me  to  premise  a  few  things. 

1st.  I  was  bred  a  merchant,  and  had  all  the  advantages  of  information  arising 
out  of  a  large  business,  and  frequent  intercourse  with  our  principal  cities,  as  well 
since  as  during  my  initiatory  progress  in  the  counting-house  of  my  father.  From 
this,  the  committee  may  infer  my  competency  to  conduct  a  business  entirely  mer- 
cantile, as  was  the  Indian  trade ;  and  not  to  conduct  it  only,  but  to  judge  of  the 
suitableness  or  unsuitableness  of  the  supplies  required  in  its  prosecution,  and  of 
their  comparative  cheapness. 

2d.  The  calls  for  the  articles  constituting  those  supplies  were  furnished,  an- 
nually, by  the  factors  stationed  at  the  several  trading  posts  in  the  Indian  country, 
and  who,  it  is  but  reasonable  to  suppose,  enumerated  such  articles  only  as  were 
required  in  the  prosecution  of  the  trade.  These  calls,  as  far  as  it  was  practica- 
ble, were  always  complied  with.  From  this,  the  committee  may  infer  whether  the 
articles  forwarded  were  suitable  or  not. 

3d.  It  was  my  good  fortune  to  succeed  to  the  superintendency  of  this  trade  a 
gentleman  whose  character  for  mercantile  intelligence,  and  system,  and  integrity, 
needs  no  commendation  of  mine  to  give  it  weight.  I  found  in  the  office  the  evi- 
dences of  the  most  perfect  system.  I  found  in  the  several  branches  of  it,  among 
the  agents,  (so  far  as  it  was  possible  for  me  to  judge  of  them,)  intelligence  and 


302  APPENDIX. 

integrity,  and,  in  the  nature  of  their  returns,  the  most  perfect  system  of  account- 
ability. They  were  all,  except  the  clerks  in  my  office,  strangers  to  me.  I  had 
never  seen  but  one  of  them.  I  judged  of  them  by  their  works.  I  supplanted 
none  of  them,  neither  those  who  were  attached  to  the  system,  nor  the  purchasing 
agents  in  our  cities,  by  others  of  my  own  selecting.  When  removals  occurred, 
they  were  produced  by  death  and  resignations ;  when,  with  a  view  to  the  public 
interests,  I  recommended  to  the  President  such  as  I  believed  were  "  capable  and 
honest."  In  doing  this  I  consulted,  as  far  as  I  was  able,  my  own  actual  know- 
ledge of  the  ability  and  integrity  of  the  applicants.  This  was  due  to  myself,  for 
the  responsibility  was  mine.  From  this  the  committee  may  infer  whether  my 
trust  was  made  the  instrument  of  "  abuse"  in  conferring,  so  far  as  it  relates  to 
appointments  to  office,  favors  on  my  friends. 

I  have  thought  proper  thus  to  premise;  but  I  intend  to  show,  before  I  have 
done,  by  something  more  than  inference,  what  were  the  principles  which  governed 
me  in  the  discharge  of  my  duty  as  superintendent  of  Indian  trade.  My  commis- 
sion bears  date  the  2d  day  of  April,  1816.  I  entered  upon  the  duties  of  my  office 
on  the  12th  of  the  same  month.  I  had  for  some  time,  nearly  two  years  before, 
disposed  of  my  mercantile  establishments,  of  which  I  was  owner  of  two  in  George- 
town, and  held  an  interest,  till  about  the  period  of  my  appointment,  in  a  store  in 
Washington,  under  the  firm  of  J.  C.  Hall  &  Co.  The  obligations  of  my  oath  of 
office,  which  forbade  me  to  participate,  directly  or  indirectly,  in  any  trade  or  bar- 
ter, except  on  the  public  account,  made  it  necessary  for  me  to  give  up  my  interest 
in  that  concern.  I  did  so ;  and,  in  adjusting  the  preliminaries  to  that  sale,  I  was 
kept  from  entering  upon  the  duties  of  my  office  from  the  2d  to  the  12th  day  of 
April,  having  solicited  and  obtained  the  superintendence  of  my  predecessor,  Gene- 
ral Mason,  till  that  concern  was  disposed  of. 

I  had  not  been  long  in  office  before  I  heard  the  buzz  of  those  insects  whose 
business  it  is,  according  to  Dr.  Johnson,  "  to  sting  one,  and  fly  away  ;"  a  kind  of 
invisible  agency  of  the  prince  of  darkness,  sent  to  annoy,  and,  if  possible,  to 
wound  and  destroy.  They  multiply  in  the  atmosphere  of  public  agencies,  espe- 
cially if  they  be  disbursing  agencies  ;  and  we  have  illustrated  their  activity  and 
venom  from  their  attacks  upon  the  hero  who  first  broke  the  charm  of  British  in- 
vincibility, and  who  had  established  such  claims  upon  the  confidence  and  gratitude 
of  his  country,  as  one  might  suppose  would  have  guarded  him  from  such  annoy- 
ances as  these,  even  down  to  your  door-keeper  in  a  public  office,  who  has  entrust- 
ed to  him  no  more  of  the  public  money  than  will  suffice  to  purchase  a  straw  broom 
or  a  mat.  It  was  not  for  me,  in  the  discharge  of  the  trust  with  which  I  was 
honored,  involving  as  it  did  disbursements  of  such  various  applications,  to  expect 
to  live  free  from  this  kind  of  annoyance.  I  did  not  expect  it.  It  was  my  duty, 
and  I  made  it  my  business,  therefore,  to  begin  by  providing  such  guards  as  should, 
at  least,  preserve  me  from  any  fatal  consequences. 

The  first  of  these  slanders  was  one  which  identified  me,  after  my  entrance  upon 
the  duties  of  my  office,  as  a  party  in  the  concern  of  J.  C.  Hall  &  Co. ;  and  again, 
if  not  a  party,  yet  as  deriving  an  indirect  emolument  in  the  purchases  which  it 
was  circulated  I  was  constantly  making  of  that  concern.  And  these  slanders, 
after  having  remained  in  their  elementary  state  for  six  years,  have  at  last  been 
embodied  and  made  (and  I  thank  the  committee  for  bringing  them  within  my 
reach)  part  of  the  subject  matter  of  this  inquiry. 


APPENDIX.  303 

So  soon  as  I  had  ascertained  that  those  insinuations  were  in  circulation,  I  re- 
quested Mr.  Edward  Hall,  through  whom  I  had  negotiated  the  sale,  and  who  was 
interested,  as  he  told  me,  in  it,  to  embody  the  entire  affair,  down  to  the  purchase 
of  the  only  parcel  of  goods  I  ever  made  of  him,  (for,  although  there  was  a  small 
invoice  in  addition  to  the  first,  yet  it  is  believed  to  have  been  part  of  the  principal 
purchase,)  in  a  certificate,  giving  to  it  the  solemnity  and  sanction  of  an  oath. 
This  was  accordingly  done,  and  signed  in  Georgetown,  as  the  original,  which  I 
now  submit,  and  which  is  the  paper  marked  A,  shows,  on  the  12th  of  November, 
1817,  and  witnessed  by  John  W.  Rich,  then  book-keeper  in  my  office.  Mr.  Hall 
being,  as  I  learn,  in  Virginia,  and  Mr.  Rich  dead,  I  have  procured  the  certificate 
of  the  brother  of  the  latter,  now  in  Washington,  certifying  to  his  brother's  hand- 
writing ;  and  the  oath  of  Mr.  Richard  Thompson,  of  Georgetown,  identifying  the 
signature  of  Mr.  Hall.  I  have  procured  these,  that  no  cavil  may  arise.  I  also 
beg  leave  to  read  the  following  letter  (B)  from  my  letter-book  D,  page  1 3,  which 
will  explain  the  test  to  which  the  goods  he  proposed  to  procure  would  be  subjected, 
viz :  an  inspection  and  approval  after  they  should  arrive  at  the  warehouses  in 
Georgetown.  They  were  subjected  to  this  test,  like  all  other  goods  which  were 
ever  bought  in  Georgetown,  as  Mr.  Bronaugh  has  deposed  ;  and,  having  passed  it, 
were  bought ;  and  because  I  had  been  connected  with  the  firm  of  J.  C.  Hall  &  Co., 
it  has  been  insinuated  that  I  participated  in  the  profits  of  that  transaction.  I  refer 
to  paper  A,  just  submitted,  and  ask  if  there  be  anything  in  it  which  would  author- 
ize such  an  insinuation  ?  And  I  ask  whether  I  must  not  have  been  constituted 
of  more  than  degraded  baseness,  to  have  placed  myself  before  Mr.  Hall,  who 
knew  the  binding  obligations  of  my  oath  of  office,  as  a  perjured  man  ?  But  I 
repel  the  insinuation  ;  and,  under  the  solemnities  of  the  oath  which  kept  the  way 
to  my  passage  to  the  office  to  which  I  was  appointed,  till  I  had  "  washed  my  hands" 
of  all  connexion  with  that  concern,  do  I  now  swear,  that  I  never  participated  one 
cent,  either  by  profit  or  by  present,  more  or  less,  in  that  purchase ;  nor,  from  the 
hour  when  the  terms  of  sale  were  agreed  upon,  which  separated  me  from  that 
concern,  in  any  transaction  connected,  either  directly  or  indirectly,  with  the  agen- 
cy of  either  J.  C.  Hall  or  Edward  Hall,  or  with  any  other  individual  who  ever  had 
transactions  with  the  office  of  Indian  trade  during  the  period  of  my  superintendency : 
and  I  challenge  the  worst  enemy  I  have  upon  earth  to  convict  me  in  this  matter. 

Let  it  be  recollected  that  it  was  made  my  duty,  by  virtue  of  my  commission, 
which  constituted  me  sole  judge  of  the  purchases,  to  provide  the  best  and  the  cheapest 
goods  for  the  prosecution  of  this  trade.  For  my  attention  to  the  state  of  the  mar- 
kets, I  refer  to  my  letter-books,  and  to  the  testimony  of  Mr.  Bronaugh,  in  answer 
to  questions  touching  this  part  of  his  examination.  I  never  bought  of  any  one 
without  first  satisfying  myself  that  I  was  making  the  best  purchases  which  the 
markets  enabled  me  to  make,  taking  the  range  of  the  New  York,  Philadelphia, 
Baltimore,  and  other  markets,  and  bringing  the  prices  and  kinds  of  goods  into  a 
just  comparison  with  the  prices  and  kinds  which  were  offered  in  our  home  mar- 
ket, and  purchasing  accordingly.  , 

I  beg  leave  to  read  to  the  committee  a  few  letters,  and  the  answers  to  them : 
say  one  to  New  York,  to  my  agent  in  that  city,  J.  L.  Dias,  (C,)  with  his  answer, 
(D ;)  and  another  to  Henry  Simpson,  agent  at  Philadelphia,  (E,)  with  his  answer, 
(F ;)  and  to  these  I  add  a  general  reference  to  my  letter-books,  now  in  possession 
of  the  committee. 


304  APPENDIX. 

From  the  letters  which  I  have  read,  and  the  replies  to  them,  the  committee  may 
infer  the  state  of  those  markets  for  Indian  goods ;  I  say  Indian  goods,  because  he 
who  judges  of  the  high  or  low  cost  of  leading  Indian  articles,  blankets  and  strouds, 
by  a  comparison,  the  blankets  with  any  other  kinds  of  blankets,  no  matter  thougli 
the  points  be  the  same,  or  the  strouding  with  any  other  kinds  of  cloth,  and  makes 
up  his  judgment  from  an  external  inspection,  and  not  by  weighing  and  measuring 
them,  betrays  at  once  his  ignorance  of  the  comparative  value  of  these  goods  ;  and 
I  appeal  for  the  truth  of  this  to  the  whole  mercantile  community. 

Yet  those  goods,  although,  as  these  letters  show,  not  to  be  had  in  either  the 
New  York  or  Philadelphia  market,  were  to  be  had  in  Georgetown.  My  object  in 
writing  was  to  ascertain  their  value.  The  reason  why  the  Georgetown  market 
was  the  best,  is  plain :  it  was  the  place  where  the  demand  existed ;  and  he  must 
be  a  novice,  indeed,  in  mercantile  matters,  who  does  not  know  the  first  principle 
of  trade, "  that  where  a  demand  is,  there  will  be  also  a  corresponding  ability  to  supply 
it."  The  progress  towards  this  ability  in  the  Georgetown  market  was  gradual ; 
and,  by  referring  to  the  invoices,  as  did  the  committee  of  Congress,  in  1817,  of 
which  the  Hon.  J.  Pickens  was  chairman,  it  will  be  seen  that,  during  the  first 
years  of  the  removal  of  the  office  to  Georgetown,  but  few  articles  were  purchased 
except  in  Philadelphia,  where  the  office  had  been ;  but  every  succeeding  year  les- 
sened the  ability  where  the  demand  had  ceased  to  exist,  and  increased  it  where  it 
did  exist. 

I  have  one  evidence  in  point,  which  I  will  submit  to  the  committee,  as  to  the 
ability  of  the  Georgetown  market  to  supply,  (when  the  demand  existed  there,  I 
mean,)  the  calls  for  Indian  supplies.  The  arrearages  of  annuities  occasioned  by 
the  war  brought  together,  in  1816,  the  very  first  year  of  my  agency,  several  of 
them ;  that  is,  for  the  years  1813,  1814,  1815,  and  1816,  all  to  be  purchased  and 
transported  in  one  season,  besides  $20,000  worth  of  presents.  Of  these  annuities 
and  presents,  forty  odd  thousand  dollars'  worth  were  purchased  and  transported  to 
Governor  Cass,  at  Detroit,  for  the  purposes  of  his  agency  ;  but  only  about  eight 
hundred  dollars'  worth  were  purchased  outside  of  the  District  of  Columbia.  And 
what  did  Governor  Cass  say  of  those  supplies  ?  I  will  read  an  extract  from  the 
letter-book  D,  page  251,  (G,)  which  I  find  incorporated  in  a  report  to  the  Hon.  J. 
Pickens.  Here,  then,  is  prima facie  evidence  that  it  was  not  an  "abuse"  or  cor- 
ruption of  office  that  led  me  to  make  purchases  to  so  large  an  amount  in 
Georgetown,  but  the  capacity  in  that  market  to  supply  the  demand.  It  may  be  well 
to  remark,  that  a  two-fold  advantage  was  realized,  which  a  purchase  by  agency, 
in  other  places,  did  not  embrace :  first,  the  selections  were  made  under  my  own 
eye ;  and,  second,  the  commissions  were  saved. 

It  may  be  asked, "  Why,  if  I  had  such  means  of  forwarding  goods  of  such  good 
quality,  and  upon  such  good  terms,  are  there  so  many  bad  and  high-charged  goods 
at  the  factories  ?"  The  answer  is  plain.  The  factories  contain  goods  which 
have  been  on  hand  from  seven  to  twenty  years.  But  for  .these  goods,  it  is  to  be 
presumed,  I  am  not  accountable.  I  am,  however,  far  from  pretending  that  there 
never  went,  among  the  vast  amount  of  purchases  which  I  made  in  the  six  years 
of  my  superintendency,  any  high-charged  and  unsuitable  goods.  It  would  be 
preposterous :  for  where,  let  me  ask,  is  the  merchant,  who,  with  all  his  care  in 
supplying  his  single  store,  never  gets,  with  his  good  and  valuable  goods,  some 
which  are  not  so  ? 


APPENDIX.  305 

But  a  short  time  before  I  received  my  appointment,  the  state  of  the  markets 
throughout  the  United  States  was  such  as  almost  to  forbid  those  who  were  of  the 
mercantile  community  from  purchasing  at  all.  And  as  to  the  articles  suited  to 
Indian  purposes,  these  were  nearly  out  of  the  market.  Powder,  in  those  days, 
cost  three  times  the  price  at  which  it  has  sold  for  since ;  and  as  to  blankets, 
these  were,  of  the  proper  kinds,  entirely  out  of  the  question.  Many  of  those 
which  were  sent  among  the  Indian  supplies,  were  manufactured  with  a  texture 
like  that  of  a  hat,  rolled  out  like  a  pelt ;  and  cloth  had  to  be  bought,  in  some  in- 
stances, made,  in  part,  of  hair !  Yet  this  was  the  best  that  could  be  done ;  and  no 
person  will  think  of  censuring  my  predecessor  for  sending  those  goods,  because 
none  better  could  be  procured.  We  all  remember  to  what  a  height,  at  about  the 
period  I  refer  to,  all  articles  of  merchandize  had  attained — from  one  to  three  hun- 
dred per  cent,  above  what  they  have  ever  been  since.  But  no  one  will  think  of 
laying  the  weight  of  such  portions  of  these  goods  as  are  to  this  hour  on  hand  at 
the  factories,  in  the  shape  of  censure,  at  my  door. 

•  It  is  asked, "  Why  I  did  not  get  rid  of  those  old  goods  ?"  I  appeal  to  my  letter- 
book  for  the  proofs  that  I  made  efforts  to  do  so.  But  the  difficulty  in  the  way  of 
accomplishing  such  an  end  is  great — indeed,  next  to  insurmountable.  The  mer- 
chants in  our  cities  can>and  do,  disembogue  their  remnants  and  bad  goods,  through 
auctions,  at  any  sacrifices.  But  there  are  no  such  facilities,  let  it  be  remembered, 
in  the  wilderness.  Parts  of  the  old  stock  at  Prairie  du  Chien  I  did  order  to  St. 
Louis,  where  they  were  sold  at  great  sacrifices.  (See  my  letter-book  D,  bottom 
of  page  411.)  The  old  goods  at  Chicago  and  Green  Bay  were  sold  to  Governor 
Cass,  for  the  Indian  Department,  at  a  sacrifice  on  the  cost,  (see  letter-book  G  G, 
page  271  ;)  and  efforts  were  made  at  other  points,  as  my  letter-books  will  de- 
monstrate. 

But  implications  are  made,  and  suspicion  has  been  busy,  because  the  great  body 
of  the  leading  articles  for  Indian  supplies  were  bought  at  Georgetown ;  and  be- 
cause two  persons,  Colonel  Cox  and  Thomas  C.  Wright,  and  not  two  hundred, 
had  greater  means,  were  better  provided,  and  of  course  sold  more  to  the  Indian 
Office,  than  others.  It  is  known  to  at  least  the  citizens  of  this  District,  that  these 
gentlemen  have  been  at  particular  pains  to  provide  themselves  with  the  best  sup- 
plies for  Indian  purposes  ;  and  Colonel  Cox,  in  particular,  for  years,  (as  the  testi- 
mony before  the  committee  establishes,)  before  I  had  anything  to  do  with  these 
purchases,  was  a  dealer  with  the  office,  and  to  very  large  amounts. 

I  have  said,  and  I  repeat  it,  and  under  the  solemnities  of  the  same  oath  under 
which  I  discharged  my  general  duties  as  superintendent,  that  my  purchases  were 
made  wherever  and  of  whomsoever  they  could  be  best  made.  Nor  did  it  become 
me  to  consider  how  little  or  how  much  was  purchased  of  any  man ;  but  only 
whether  what  was  bought  of  him  was  the  best,  the  cheapest,  and  most  suitable, 
which,  at  the  time  of  buying,  the  markets  could  furnish.  For  the  scrutiny  that 
was  exercised  in  my  purchases  of  Colonel  Cox,  (and  it  was  not  peculiar  to  him,) 
I  refer  to  the  testimony  of  Mr.  Bronaugh,  and  to  a  letter  which  I  find  in  my  let- 
ter-book G  G,  page  176,  (H,)  which  I  addressed  to  him  on  the  subject  of  the  sup- 
ply of  leading  articles,  which  had  been  bought  in  the  expectation,  and  with 
the  understanding,  that  they  were  of  the  same  quality  and  weight  of  the  goods  of 
the  previous  year.  My  terms  in  this  letter  were  complied  with.  (See  Mr.  Bro- 
naugh's  testimony.) 

VOL.  i.  39 


306  APPENDIX. 

I  know  no  man,  in  my  official  relations,  as  a  friend,  to  be  favored  at  the  public 
expense ;  and  what  my  view  of  this  subject  is,  and  the  principles  which  governed 
me,  I  have  the  evidence,  and  shall  presently  disclose  it,  to  demonstrate.  I  will 
call  the  attention  of  the  committee  to  another  of  the  whispers  which  seldom  fail 
to  be  made  in  relation  to  disbursing  public  officers :  I  mean  those  which  embrace 
imputations  of  applying  the  public  money  to  private  uses.  However  this  abuse 
may  have  sometimes  occurred,  yet,  as  the  examination  of  Mr.  Bronaugh  has 
tested,  it  has  no  application  to  me.  I  never  did,  (and  I  add  the  awful  sanction  of 
my  own  appeal  to  the  Deity  in  truth  of  it  to  that  of  Mr.  Bronaugh,)  apply,  during 
the  whole  term  of  my  superintendence  of  the  Indian  Trade  Department,  one  cent 
of  the  public  moneys,  more  or  less — save  those  only  which  were  allowed  me  for 
my  salary — to  my  private  uses.  No ;  it  was  around  this  branch  of  my  duty  that 
I  placed  the  most  inflexible  guards.  And  I  defy  the  closest  scrutiny  into  every 
transaction  of  the  moneyed  sort — and  hundreds  of  thousands  passed  through  my 
hands — to  detect  a  single  departure  from  the  inflexible  rule,  to  keep  the  public  mo- 
neys separate  from  what  I  might  have  of  my  own,  and  apply  them  ONLY  to  the  pur- 
poses for  which  they  had  been  entrusted  to  me. 

I  will  now,  in  conclusion,  proceed  to  illustrate  before  the  committee  what  the 
estimate  was,  which,  as  a  public  officer,  I  attached  to  my  integrity ;  and  how 
scrupulous  I  was  in  providing  against  the  attacks  of  even  the  veriest  veterans  in 
the  art  of  detraction  and  slander.  I  certainly  feel  how  unpleasant -it  is  to  be  com- 
pelled to  speak  of  one's  self;  but,  as  I  have  said  already,  the  occasion  must  fur- 
nish the  apology. 

I  submit  the  oaths  of  two  brothers ;  and  I  appeal  for  the  testimony  of  their  in- 
tegrity and  good  name  to  General  .Reed,  of  the  House  of  Representatives,  who 
has  known  us  all  from  our  infancy,  and  who  is  himself  known  to  be  an  honorable 
man ;  and  also  to  the  principal  families  of  this  District,  among  whom  I  will  ven- 
ture to  take  the  liberty  of  naming  General  Mason,  and  Doctor  Worthington,  and 
General  Walter  Smith  and  his  family,  and  the  Rev.  Mr.  Addison,  and  the  Rev. 
Henry  Foxall ;  and  I  make  these  references,  because  the  testimony  I  am  going  to 
submit  is  the  testimony  of  my  brothers.  For  these  brothers  I  have  the  warmest 
and  most  affectionate  attachment ;  nor  did  I  ever  decline,  in  a  single  instance, 
when  it  was  in  my  power,  and  when  my  sense  of  duty  authorized  it,  to  do  them 
any  favor  they  asked.  I  submit  their  statements  on  oath,  marked  I,  J,  and  ask 
that  judgment  be  pronounced,  whether,  if  I  could  be  inflexible  to  an  appeal  like 
this — be  driven  from  a  compliance  with  the  proposition,  so  reasonable  in  itself,  by 
an  instinctive  dread  of  slander,  and  the  imputations  which  I  knew  well  enough 
would  attach  to.  and  perhaps  tarnish  my  integrity — I  could  be  influenced  by  cor- 
rupt motives  to  deal  with  others  who,  although  acquaintances  and  friends,  are,  in 
the  comparison  of  a  brotherly  relation,  strangers  ?  and  whether,  with  these  feelings 
on  my  part,  I  could  consent,  by  participating,  as  has  been  insinuated,  in  the  pur- 
chase made  of  Mr.  Hall,  to  stand  before  him,  he  knowing  the  nature  of  my  oath 
of  office,  a  perjured  man  ?  No,  sir ;  my  good  name  was,  and  yet  is,  my  all.  Mo- 
ney is  not  the  god  of  my  idolatry,  as  those  who  know  me  will  attest.  It  had  been 
better  for  me  to-day,  perhaps,  had  I  worshipped  a  little  more  devotionally  at  this 
shrine.  My  good  name  I  have  labored  hard  to  preserve.  I  received  it  as  a  legacy 
from  parents  who  died  and  left  me  little  else  with  which  to  combat  the  roughnesses 
of  this  bleak  and  cheerless  world ;  and  the  business  of  my  life  has  been,  and  I 


APPENDIX.  307 

trust  will  ever  be  to  its  close,  to  preserve  that  legacy,  and  to  hand  it  over  untar- 
nished to  an  only  son,  to  whom,  although  I  may  have  little  more  to  give,  it  may 
constitute  a  source  of  the  most  agreeable  reflections ;  and,  by  a  reference  to  the 
example  which  this  very  inquiry  furnishes,  he  may  be  induced  the  more  vigilantly 
to  guard  it,  and  hand  it  over  in  perfect  purity  to  his  posterity.  I  am  concerned 
for  its  preservation.  I  will  not,  I  could  not,  disguise  it ;  but  I  shall  expect  it  to 
be  protected,  on  this  occasion,  only  on  the  grounds  of  my  having  demonstrated 
that  it  has  been  unrighteously  assailed. 

A. 

I  do  hereby  certify,  that,  at  or  about  the  time  Thomas  L.  McKenney  was  ap- 
pointed superintendent  of  Indian  trade,  he  was  engaged  in  a  mercantile  business 
in  Washington  city  with  my  brother,  J.  C.  Hall ;  and  that,  of  the  term  of  said 
partnership,  which  was  five  years,  about  one  only  had  elapsed  when  the  appoint- 
ment above  named  was  made ;  that  Mr.  McKenney,  aforesaid,  stated  to  my  brother 
his  necessity,  under  his  oath  of  office,  to  relinquish  all  mercantile  affairs  on  his 
own  account,  and  proposed  to  sell  out  to  my  brother.  His  terms  were,  for  his  inte- 
rest in  the  concern  for  the  four  years  then  to  come — the  profits  having  been  about 
$1,000  for  the  first  year — five  annual  payments  of  $1,000,  to  include  the  propor- 
tion of  profits  that  had  arisen  on  the  first  year's  sales  ;  he  (the  said  McKenney) 
to  afford  his  endorsement  on  paper  running  in  bank  for  Mr.  Hall's  accommodation, 
to  the  amount  of  $5,000.  My  brother  declined  giving  as  much  as  the  sum  re- 
quired ;  but,  through  me,  proposed  to  give  a  less  amount,  in  similar  payments,  and 
on  the  same  privilege  of  endorsement  as  referred  to. 

It. was  here  I  suggested  to  Mr.  McKenney  that  my  brother  could  be  essentially 
served  by  any  dealings  he  might  have  with  him  as  a  merchant  for  the  public  sup- 
plies, and  that  any  promise  of  countenance  to  this  effect  would  enable  my  brother 
to  give  more  for  the  interest  in  the  establishment  about  to  be  bought  out ;  when 
Mr.  McKenney  replied,  "  I  can  make  no  stipulations  on  such  a  subject.  I  can 
hold  out  TIO  inducements  of  the  sort :  if  your  brother  have  goods,  such  as  my  offi- 
cial duty  requires  me  to  procure,  and  his  terms  be  as  good  as  others,  his  chance 
will  be  equal.  I  cannot  say  anything  to  justify  any  expectations  of  the  sort." 

Such  was  the  manner  and  feeling  of  the  said  McKenney  on  the  subject,  that  I 
feared  he  supposed  me  inclined  to  induce  him,  by  an  additional  offer,  to  commit 
himself  to  deal  with  my  brother  upon  terms  which  might  include  his  own  inte- 
rests, apart  from  his  official  duty  and  obligations  ;  whereupon  I  explained  that  my 
intention  was  not  to  insinuate  that  I  thought  he  could  be  tempted  to  barter  away 
his  honor ;  far  from  it ;  but  I  only  wished  to  get  as  much  information  as  I  could 
for  my  brother,  as  to  the  probable  amount  of  purchases  he  might  be  able  to  make, 
as  that  would  enable  him  to  form  a  more  correct  estimate  of  the  annual  worth  of 
the  business  he  was  in ;  to  which  Mr.  McKenney  replied,  "  It  is  a  point  on  which 
I  cannot  converse." 

The  bargain  was  at  last  concluded,  by  and  through  me,  for  my  brother,  and  the 
sum  agreed  upon  to  be  given  was  $2,000,  in  full  of  his  proportion  of  the  first 
year's  profits,  and  for  his  interest  in  it  for  the  four  following  years  of  the  term  of 
the  partnership,  in  annual  notes  of  $400  each :  he  (Mr.  McKenney)  agreeing  to 
continue  his  endorsement  on  my  brother's  paper  for  $5,000. 

Thus  ended  the  purchase  on  the  part  of  my  brother,  and  the  sale  on  the  part 
of  Mr.  McKenney. 


308  APPENDIX. 

I  do  further  certify  and  swear,  that  the  notes  above  specified  were  all  that  were 
given,  and  that  they  were  given  solely  as  compensation  for  the  said  McKenney's 
proportion  of  profits  that  were  then  made,  and  for  his  interest  in  the  business  for 
four  years  then  to  come. 

I  do  further  swear,  that  Mr.  McKenney  urged  me  to  come  to  some  conclusion 
— I  having  undertaken  to  be  the  organ  for  my  brother  to  Mr.  McKenney — as  he 
felt  himself  incapable  to  engage  in  the  duties  of  his  office  until  he  had  washed 
his  hands  of  his  own  personal  mercantile  concerns ;  and  further,  that  he — the  said 
McKenney — always,  during  the  negotiation,  manifested  the  utmost  repugnance  to 
listen  to  the  conversation  which  I  had  with  him  about  selling  to  the  Indian  De- 
partment ;  nor  did  he  ever  justify  the  least  expectations  that  any  countenance,  of 
any  sort,  would  be  shown  to  my  brother  or  myself ;  and,  finally,  he  "  begged  that 
no  more  might  be  said  upon  that  subject." 

Now,  in  justice  to  myself,  it  becomes  me  to  say,  that  my  whole  motive  in  asking 
for  information  was  to  obtain,  not  any  commitment  from  Mr.  McKenney,  but  only 
to  enable  my  brother  to  make  his  arrangements,  by  providing  such  goods  as  might 
be  in  demand,  and  to  get  some  information  of  their  kinds,  and  to  place  ourselves 
— my  brother,  Joseph  C.  Hall,  and  myself,  I  mean — before  Mr.  McKenney's  view 
as  sellers  of  goods,  and  to  express  a  hope  for  a  suitable  patronage. 

Finally,  Mr.  McKenney,  some  time  after  the  sale,  and  when  I  called  to  offer 
him  some  goods,  declined  even  to  look  at  them  himself ;  and  then  stated  that "  his 
having  been  in  business  with  my  brother  would  prevent  him  from  ever  making 
any  purchases ;  that,  whatever  goods  we  might  have  to  offer,  we  must  present  to 
Mr.  Bronaugh,"  which  we  did. 

I  further  swear,  that  I  never  in  my  life  witnessed  more  circumspect  caution,  or 
apprehensions  of  suspicion,  in  any  man,  than  I  did  in  Mr.  McKenney ,  nor  did 
my  brother  ever  sell  but  one  parcel  of  goods  to  the  Indian  Department,  and  these 
were  inspected  and  approved  by  Mr.  Bronaugh. 

EDWD.  HALL. 

Georgetown,  November  12,  1817. 

DISTRICT  or  COLUMBIA,  County  of  Washington,  to  wit : 

On  this  24th  day  of  February,  1823,  personally  appears  Richard  Thompson 
before  me,  the  subscriber,  and  makes  oath,  according  to  law,  that  the  signature 
to  the  foregoing  instrument  of  writing  he  believes  to  be  the  true  signature  of  Ed- 
ward Hall,  brother  of  Joseph  C.  Hall,  formerly  of  the  firm  of  Joseph  C.  Hall  & 
Co.,  of  Washington.  JAMES  ORD,  J.  P. 

JOHN  W.  RICH,  Witness. 

I  hereby  certify  that  the  signature  to  this  instrument,  as  witness,  is  the  genuine 
signature  of  John  W.  Rich,  as  it  purports  to  be. 

WM.  RICH,  Brother  of  John  W.  Rich. 
Washington,  February  24,  1823. 

B. 

INDIAN  OFFICE,  GEORGETOWN,  April  23,  1816. 

SIR— You  mentioned  to  me  the  other  evening  that  your  brother  was  then  in  Balti- 
more, and  that  he  would  be  glad  to  attend  to  the  purchase  of  any  articles  of  mer- 
chandise I  might  want  for  this  office.  I  respectfully  avail  myself  of  this  tender 
of  services,  which  you  will  be  pleased  to  understand  as  being  accepted  only  upon 


APPENDIX.  309 

the  condition  that  the  articles  I  am  about  to  name  be,  if  purchased,  entirely  ac- 
ceptable in  price  and  quality,  and  in  such  other  respects  as  shall  render  them  entirely 
proper  for  the  purpose  for  which  they  are  intended.  With  this  condition,  you  may 
write  to  your  brother  to  procure  and  send  on,  with  as  little  delay  as  possible, 
twenty  pieces  of  dark  purple  and  chocolate  brown  cloth,  (that  is  to  say,  ten 
pieces  of  each,)  to  be  three  quarters  of  a  yard  wide,  good  quality,  to  cost  here  not 
more  than  seventy-five  cents  per  yard ;  one  hundred  pieces  of  strouds,  (about 
twenty  yards  in  a  piece.)  Strouds  are  a  blue  cloth,  six  quarters  wide,  with  a 
narrow  cord  about  one  inch  from  the  selvage.  For  these  I  will  allow  (if  good) 
one  dollar  and  twenty-five  cents  per  yard.  Six  pieces  of  green  cloth  (nearly 
grass-green,)  six  quarters  wide,  not  to  exceed  in  price  one  dollar  and  twenty-five 
cents  per  yard. 

If  these  goods  can  be  procured,  and  can  be  furnished  to  this  office  in  fifteen  or 
twenty  days,  (sooner  would  be  desirable,)  and  under  the  conditions  named,  I  will 
buy  them.  I  am,  &c.  THOS.  L.  MCKENNEY,  S.  I.  T. 

Mr.  EDWARD  HALL,  Georgetoim. 

NOTE. — Mr.  Hall  bought,  also,  a  parcel  of  blankets,  at  his  own  risk,  which,  on 
arriving,  were  inspected  ;  and,  being  then  wanted  were  bought  for  the  supplies 
then  making  up. 

C. 

OFFICE  OF  INDIAN  TRADE,  May  8,  1818. 

SIR — I  will  thank  you  if  you  will  take  the  trouble  to  make  inquiries  in  your 
city  after  the  following  articles,  and  of  the  following  descriptions  :  Northwest 
Company  blankets — so  called — three  points,  to  measure  six  feet  six  inches  long, 
and  five  feet  six  inches  wide  ;  to  weigh,  per  pair,  eight  pounds  and  a  half. 
Two  and  a  half  points,  to  measure  six  feet  three  inches  long,  and  five  feet  two 
inches  wide  ;  to  weigh,  per  pair,  seven  pounds  and  a  half.  Strouds,  from  six  to 
seven  quarters  wide,  to  weigh,  per  yard,  from  one  and  half  to  one  pound  and 
three-quarters. 

If  these  goods  can  be  had,  please  inform  me  at  what  prices. 

Respectfully,  &c.,  THOS.  L.  MCKENNEY,  S.  /.  T. 

To  J.  L.  DIAS,  New  York. 

D. 

Extract  from  so  much  of  J.  L.  Dias's  letter  as  relates  to  the  call  on  him  for  infor- 
mation of  prices,  as  per  letter  C. 

As  to  the  inquiries  contained  in  your  favor  of  the  8th,  I  regret  to  inform  you 
that  I  have  not  been  able  to  find  out  any  blankets  of  the  description  therein  sta- 
ted, nor  do  I  believe  it  possible  to  meet  with  any. 

In  1813, 1  purchased,  by  order  of  General  Mason,  and  forwarded  to  some  of  the 
factories,  some  two  and  a  half  and  three  point  blankets,  but  I  believe  they  were  of 
the  ordinary  sizes  and  weights,  for  I  remember  that  I  had  previously  endeavored, 
in  vain,  to  procure  such  ones  as  you  describe. 

Note  by  Colonel  McKenney. — It  will  be  recollected  that  both  Mr.  Dias  and  Mr. 
Simpson  had  the  inducements  of  a  commission  for  buying 

E. 

The  same  letter  as  that  to  Mr.  Dias  to  Mr.  H.  Simpson,  of  Philadelphia. 


310  APPENDIX. 

F. 

Copy  of  H.  Simpson's  letter. 

PHILADELPHIA,  May  11, 1818. 

SIR — In  reply  to  your  favor  of  the  8th  instant,  I  beg  leave  to  state,  that  there 
are  no  blankets  in  this  market  of  the  precise  quality  and  dimensions  as  those  you 
ask  for.    For  the  particulars  of  the  quality  of  mine,  which  are  the  best  in  the  mar- 
ket, I  refer  you  to  my  letter  to  you  of  the  14th  March,  &c.  &c.       H.  SIMPSON. 
THOS.  L.  MCKENNEY,  Esq.,  S.  I.  T. 

G. 

Extract  of  a  letter  from  General  Cass  to  the  Superintendent  of  Indian  Trade. 

I  have  been  much  gratified  to  find  the  goods  sent  here  for  the  Indians  are  very 
well  selected.  Perfect  justice  has  been  done.  I  am  informed,  by  persons  in  the 
Indian  Department,  that  such  a  selection  was  never  sent  to  this  country.  In 
fact,  I  cannot  conceive  that  they  could  be  better  suited  to  the  objects  for  which 
they  are  sent. 

I  refer  to  my  letter-book  D,  page  348,  to  a  letter  of  24th  June,  1817,  in  reply,  in 
part,  to  one  which  I  had  received  from  J.  W.  Johnston,  of  Prairie  du  Chien. 
From  the  following  paragraph,  (although  his  letter  to  me  is  not  at  hand,  but  may 
be  found  by  referring  to  the  records  of  the  Indian  Office,)  an  inference  may  be 
made  of  the  tenor  of  his  letter  to  me  from  the  following  reply : 

"  It  affords  me  pleasure  (I  say  to  him  in  reply)  to  learn  that  those  goods  are  so 
very  acceptable.  It  is  surely  a  high  commendation  you  bestow  :  and  it  is  the 
more  welcome,  because  you  certainly  know  how  to  estimate  an  entire  suitableness 
of  the  articles  to  the  tastes  of  the  Indians  in  your  quarter.  I  notice  with  pleasure 
that  you  are  attracting,  by  means  of  those  goods,  the  attention  of  the  Indians." 

T.  L.  MCKENNEY,  S.  L  T. 
H. 
Letter  to  Colonel  Cox. 

OFFICE  OF  INDIAN  TRADE,  April  10,  1821. 

SIR — Understanding  that  you  are  in  Baltimore,  I  think  proper  to  write  to  you 
on  the  subject  of  the  merchandise  conditionally  purchased  of  you.  The  blankets, 
on  being  opened,  turn  out  to  be  so  inferior  as  to  be  almost  unsuited  to  the  trade. 
Besides  the  appearance  and  poorness  of  covering,  which  shows  the  twill  on  both 
sides,  the  wrong  side  almost  uncovered,  and  having  a  black  narrow  stripe  instead 
of  an  indigo-blue  and  wide  one,  the  three  points  are  charged  to  weigh  eight 
pounds  and  a  quarter,  and  weighs  only  seven  pounds  and  a  half.  The  smaller 
blankets  are  of  a  similar  quality. 

The  strouding,  charged  as  being  the  same  with  the  best  of  last  year's  purchase, 
weighs  four  pounds  less,  and  is  narrower  and  thinner,  of  course. 

It  will  be  difficult  to  use  these  goods  at  all,  and  impossible  to  do  so  at  the  prices 
charged  in  the  memorandum  left  by  you.  Nothing  can  authorize  the  admission 
of  any  part  of  them  into  the  stock  except  a  reduction  of  prices,  governing  the  de- 
preciation by  the  falling  short  of  the  weights. 

I  wish  you  to  write  me  immediately,  and  say  whether  you  are  willing  to  let 
these  articles  be  used  at  the  rates  embraced  by  the  unlikeness  of  their  quality  to 
those  that  they  have  been  called  equal  to  in  your  invoice.  If  not,  it  is  proper  I 


APPENDIX.  311 

should  say,  they  cannot  be  used  at  all  I  regret  this  the  more,  as  there  will  be  an 
interruption  in  the  packing  until  I  hear  from  you.  Write  definitely  and  conclusive- 
ly ;  and  this  you  can  do,  because  I  have  no  interest  in  misrepresenting  these 
goods,  and  I  wish  to  receive  them  only  on  fair  terms. 

Respectfully,  &c.          THOMAS  L.  MCKENNEY,  S.  I.  T. 

To  Col.  JOHN  Cox. 

I. 

GEORGETOWN,  D.  C.,  February  21,  1823. 

DEAR  BROTHER — I  received,  late  this  evening,  your  letter  of  yesterday,  in 
which  you  request  me  to  "  embody  the  offer  I  had  made  me  by  a  gentleman  of 
New  York,  to  engage  with  me  in  a  mercantile  establishment  in  Georgetown,  sta- 
ting the  amount  in  cash  which  he  proposed  to  furnish,  the  chief  object  of  that  pro- 
position, and  the  conversation  that  passed  between  you  and  myself  when  I 
made  it  known  to  you." 

In  accordance  with  said  request,  I  now  make  the  following  statement : 

Not  long  after  you  had  received  the  appointment  of  superintendent  of  Indian  trade, 
a  gentleman  (Mr.  William  Floyd)  from  New  York,  then  trading  under  the  firm 
of  Floyd,  Smith  &  Co.,  proposed  to  me  to  engage  with  him  in  a  large  dry 
goods  establishment  in  this  town,  which  should  have  for  one  of  its  objects,  or  its 
principal  object,  a  reference  to  sales  to  your  office,  and,  of  course,  to  keep  the 
most  abundant  and  suitable  supplies  of  Indian  goods.  He  proposed  to  furnish  the 
means  to  carry  it  on  extensively. 

I  communicated  to  you  information  of  this  oner,  and  stated  its  principal  ob- 
ject, expressing  my  belief  that  we  should  be  able  to  sell  to  you  upon  as  good 
terms  as  any  other  merchants,  and  that  the  offer  was  one  of  importance  to  me.  You 
instantly,  with  some  degree  of  excitement,  rejected  the  plan ;  and,  as  well  as  I  can 
recollect,  replied,  "  tell  or  write  the  gentleman  that  I  can  consider  his  proposition 
in  no  other  light  than  an  indirect  attempt  upon  my  honor  and  reputation."  You 
further  said,  that  no  disbursing  officer  could,  with  every  possible  precaution, 
keep  himself  free  from  the  suspicions  of  the  evil-disposed,  the  disappointed  and  the 
malicious,  deal  with  whomsoever  he  might ;  and  that  for  me,  however  fair  and 
honorable  were  my  views,  and  would  or  might  be  your  purchases,  were  you  to 
make  any,  yet,  as  I  was  your  brother,  the  public  would  never  be  satisfied  but 
that  corruptions  and  frauds  were  practised ;  that  you  had  set  out  to  avoid,  as  far  as 
might  be  in  your  power,  any  just  grounds  of  suspicion  against  any  act  of  yours  in 
the  discharge  of  the  trust  which  had  been  committed  to  you ;  and  you  never 
would,  no  matter  how  advantageous  it  might  be  to  me,  sanction  the  offer  that  had 
been  made  me,  so  far  as  it  looked  to  your  office  to  purchase  goods  of  us.  I  re- 
collect perfectly  well  that  I  endeavored  to  remonstrate  with  you,  and  begged  you 
to  consider  that  we  never  should  ask  you  or  expect  you  to  buy  a  single  article 
that  should  not  be  at  a  fair  price,  as  low  as  it  could  be  had  elsewhere,  and  suita- 
ble to  your  wants,  or  the  Indian  trade  ;  and  that  I  could  not  see  why  it  must  fol- 
low, because  I  was  your  brother,  and  you  made  purchases  of  me,  that  therefore 
you  must  be  corrupt.  I  assured  you  that  it  was  not  expected  by  Mr.  Floyd,  when 
he  made  me  the  offer,  that  you  should  or  would,  in  any  instance,  depart  from  the 
strict  line  of  your  duty,  for  we  would  only  expect  you  to  purchase  of  us  when 
our  offers  were  good,  and  as  cheap  as  others.  You  replied  to  me,  with  some 
sharpness  :  "  Hush  it.  I  never  will  sanction  it.  I  am  a  better  judge  of  this  mat- 


312  APPENDIX. 

ter  than  you  can  be,"  or  words  to  that  import.  Seeing  me  considerably  hurt  at 
your  manner,  and  refusal  of  what  I  considered  a  perfectly  fair  and  honorable 
offer,  which  might  be  of  great  advantage  to  me,  you  stated  that  it  was  your  duty 
to  yourself  and  reputation  that  forbade  you  to  sanction  the  contemplated  business 
between  Mr.  Floyd  and  myself,  and  that  I  knew  you  had  the  best  and  most  affec- 
tionate feelings  towards  me  ;  but,  nevertheless,  you  reiterated  your  refusal,  and 
declared  most  solemnly  that  you  would  not  countenance  the  offer,  nor  buy  of  us, 
directly  or  indirectly,  no  matter  how  superior  and  cheap  our  goods  might  be. 
Not  seeing  the  justice  of  your  resolution,  after  I  had  repeatedly  told  you  we 
could  only  expect  or  desire  you  to  purchase  when  our  goods  were  suitable  to  your 
wants,  and  as  cJieap  as  they  could  be  had  elsewhere,  I  made  known  to  my  brother 
Samuel  what  had  passed,  and  requested  him,  as  he  thought  you  were  fastidious, 
to  call  and  see  you  on  the  subject.  He  did  so,  but  without  being  able  to  change 
your  views  or  purpose  ;  and  I  abandoned  the  contemplated  establishment. 

Your  affectionate  brother.  WM.  MCKENNEY. 

WASHINGTON  COUNTY,  District  of  Columbia,  ss : 

On  the  22d  day  of  February,  1823,  came  Wm.  McKenney  before  me,  the  sub- 
scriber, a  justice  of  the  peace,  in  and  for  the  said  county,  and  made  oath  on  the 
Holy  Evangelists  of  Almighty  God,  that  the  foregoing  statement  is  true,  to  the 
best  of  his  knowledge.  DANIEL  BUSSARD. 

J. 

GEORGETOWN,  February  22,  1823. 

DEAR  BROTHER — I  received  your  letter  of  the  20th  instant,  in  which  you  re- 
quest me  "  to  state,  on  oath,  the  conversation  you  had  with  me  on  the  subject  of 
the  proposition  which  our  brother  William  had  made  to  him  by  a  gentleman  from 
New  York." 

I  recollect  that  our  brother  William,  I  think  in  1817  or  1818 — I  forget  which — 
came  to  me,  and  represented  that  he  thought  you  had  taken  a  very  unjustifiable 
stand  in  relation  to  an  offer  he  had  made  to  him  by  a  gentleman  of  New  York,  of 
a  considerable  capital,  to  open  a  dry  goods  store  in  Georgetown,  by  refusing,  if 
he  did  commence  the  business,  to  buy  an  article  from  him,  at  no  matter  what  rates 
he  might  offer  it.  Thinking  that  you  had  not  duly  weighed  the  subject,  and  know- 
ing that  it  was  not  necessary  for  a  purchaser,  because  he  dealt  with  his  brother, 
to  be  a  rogue,  I  went  to  your  house,  and  found  you  in  the  fields.  I  represented 
my  views  to  you,  and  urged  you  to  think  differently ;  and  that,  if  William  sold 
as  cheap  as  any  one  else,  and  dealt  in  the  right  kind  of  goods,  I  could  not  see  any 
reason  why  you  should  not  deal  with  him.  Your  answer  was,  in  substance,  that 
you  were  a  public  officer ;  suspicion  would  attach  to  you,  deal  with  him  as  fairly 
as  you  might,  and  that  your  reputation  was  worth  more  to  you  than  any  moneyed 
advantage,  arising  under  his  proposed  establishment,  would  be  to  him.  You  re- 
jected my  entreaties,  and  with  fervor  declared  you  never  would  deal  with  him 
while  you  remained  a  public  officer,  thereby  subjecting  yourself  to  the  slanders 
of  the  suspicious,  which  you  might  never  have  it  in  your  power  to  put  down. 
This  I  believe  to  be  the  substance  of  our  conversation ;  and  I  am  now  con- 
strained to  acknowledge  the  propriety  of  your  decision. 

I  remain  your  affectionate  brother,  SAML.  MCKENNEY. 

Mr.  THOS.  L.  MCKENNEY. 


APPENDIX.  313 

DISTRICT  OF  COLUMBIA,  County  of  Washington,  to  wit : 

On  this  22d  day  of  February,  1823,  before  me,  the  subscriber,  one  of  the  jus- 
tices of  the  peace  in  and  for  said  county,  personally  appears  Samuel  McKenney, 
and  makes  oath  on  the  Holy  Evangelists  of  Almighty  God,  that  the  foregoing 
statement  of  the  matters  and  things  as  therein  mentioned  is  just  and  true  to  the 
best  of  his  knowledge  and  belief.  JAMES  ORD. 

GEORGETOWN,  February  24,  1823. 

We,  the  undersigned,  having  sold  to  Thomas  L.  McKenney,  superintendent  of 
Indian  trade,  on  the  23d  of  March,  1820,  two  dozen  single-bladed  penknives,  at 
$7  per  dozen,  and  two  dozen  double-bladed  penknives,  at  $5  50  per  dozen,  have 
no  hesitation  to  say  that  they  were  charged  at  the  fair  market  price,  at  that  pe- 
riod ;  but  have  no  recollection  that  the  one  knife  furnished  as  a  pattern  is  any 
part  of  the  above  sale.  WHARTON  &  GRINDAGE. 

We  certify  that  we  packed  the  above  knives  for  Chicago  factory  in  the  year 
1820.  JERE.  W.  BRONAUGH, 

M.  FITZHUGH. 


(C.) 

June  9fh,  1819. — With  delight  we  find  in  the  few  publications  which  reach 
us,  that  Christians  of  the  different  denominations  are  gradually  approaching  each 
other  in  a  spirit  of  Christian  love,  tending  to  a  closer  union.  Oh  !  that  all  those 
who  feel  themselves  called  to  take  an  active  part  in  the  conversion  of  the  hea- 
then, would  enjoin  it  on  their  missionaries  to  keep,  as  much  as  in  them  lieth,  the 
heathen  ignorant  of  the  deplorable  dissensions  prevailing  among  Christians,  and 
to  live  with  laborers  of  other  churches,  whom  they  may  find  in  the  countries  to 
which  they  are  sent,  or  who  may  come  after  them,  in  such  harmony,  that  the 
heathen  of  our  day  may  be  induced  to  repeat  what  those  of  the  first  ages  of 
Christianity  used  to  say :  "  See  how  these  Christians  love  one  another." 

November  18//1,  1819. — Upon  our  repeated  request,  the  directors  of  our  society 
at  Salem,  N.  C.,  sent  unto  us  the  Rev.  Abraham  Steiner,  late  inspector  of  the 
young  ladies'  academy  at  that  place,  who  actually,  twenty  years  since,  had  gone 
out  thence,  as  the  first  missionary  to  the  Cherokees.  He  is  a  warm  friend  to  the 
Indians,  and  in  particular  to  the  Cherokees,  to  whom  this  was  his  seventh  visit. 
If  I  tell  our  esteemed  friend,  Colonel  McKenney,  that  we  expect  much  good  to 
redound  to  the  poor  Cherokees  from  this  visit,  I  know,  from  manifold  proofs  of 
his  cordial  interest  in  our  undertaking,  and  great  love  to  our  dear  people,  he 
will  kindly  pardon  our  otherwise  inexcusable  silence.  You  kindly  notice  the 
state  of  my  health.  With  thanks  to  our  Almighty  Benefactor,  I  can  assure  you, 
my  dear  sir,  that  since  the  cool  weather  has  set  in,  I  feel  greatly  revived.  I  own 
my  constitutional  weaknesses  make  me  dread  summer's  return ;  yet,  whenever 
a  dreadful  thought  arises  in  my  breast,  I  am  reminded  of  our  dear  Saviour's 
prohibition,  Matthew  vi.,  34.  This  sets  my  mind  at  ease  ;  and  I  can  truly  enjoy 
the  blessings  of  the  present  season,  casting  my  cares  for  the  future  on  Him  who 
has  with  mercy  upholden  His  poor  weak  child  hitherto.  Truly,  no  thought  would 
to  me  be  more  grievous,  than  to  be  necessitated  to  bid  farewell  to  the  dear  Chero- 
kees, whose  welfare  is  so  very  closely  united  with  mine  own  ;  likewise,  that 
VOL.  i.  40 


314  APPENDIX. 

for  my  weakness'  sake,  my  good  husband  should  be  torn  from  his  element — 
serving  that  dear  people,  according  to  their  spiritual  and  bodily  wants.  We  will 
trust  in  the  Lord,  and  serve  His  cause  with  gladness  here,  while  he  affords 
strength.  He  can  support  us  in  our  greatest  weakness  by  his  Almighty  hand ! 

Of  the  marvellous  manifestations  of  the  power  of  our  dear  Lord,  in  the  conver- 
sion of  our  people,  and  of  the  bright  examples  they  give  to  others  of  a  real  change 
of  heart,  I  will  let  your  friend  G.  speak  to  you.  Suffice  it  to  say,  for  the  present, 
that  our  hearts  rejoice,  and  our  eyes  overflow  with  grateful  tears !  Yes,  dear 
friend,  you  will  yet  see  joy  !  You  will  hear  true,  good  report,  of  your  dear  In- 
dians !  Thus  will  your  unwearied  faithful  labors  for  their  welfare  be  rewarded 
by  Him,  who  alone  is  able  to  reward,  and  that  most  gloriously ! 

How  sweet,  how  heart-melting  are  your  sentiments,  respecting  our  favorite 
bard!  Truly,  the  sublime,  the  well-tried  in  the  furnace  of  affliction,  well- 
refined  Cowper,  had  no  thought,  when  he  held  forth  the  purest  Gospel  in  his  ini- 
mitable poems,  that  his  spiritual  songs  would  reach  the  poor  heathen  also— 
yea,  even  the  North  American  Indians,  and  he  be  loved  and  admired  by  the  Che- 
rokees  also !  How  would  such  an  idea  have  gladdened  his  mind,  and  raised  his 
drooping  spirits ;  for  he  was  the  warm  friend  of  all  mankind !  Some  of  his  most 
expressive  hymns  are  among  our  collection  of  hymns,  used  in  our  church,  and  fre- 
quently sung,  even  here,  in  our  meetings  of  worship. 

November  26th,  1819. — I  will  not  intrude  upon  your  valuable  time,  by  a  long 
apology  for  my  too-long  interrupted  correspondence,  but  simply  tell  you,  that 
now  I  snatch  the  first  leisure  moment,  granted  me  by  other  multifarious  avoca- 
tions, for  the  self-gratification  of  conversing  with  you,  and  to  paint  on  paper  some 
expressions  of  gratefulness  for  your  disinterested  friendship,  and  its  valuable 
effects.  On  the  14th  of  September  we  received  three  communications  from  your 
hand  of  the  17th  July  and  2d  August,  for  which  please  to  accept  our  warmest 
thanks.  Since  then,  viz.,  on  the  10th  of  November,  I  received  from  the  General 
Post-Office  an  appointment,  as  postmaster  at  Spring  Place,  no  doubt  by  your  inter- 
cession. What  can  I  render  in  return  ?  My  situation  affords  no  probability  that 
I  shall  ever  be  able  to  do  anything  for  you.  All  I  can  do  is,  to  draw  on  my  faith- 
ful Banker  above,  to  reward,  in  His  divine  way,  your  kind  works  of  love.  I  have 
still  another  proof  of  your  assiduous  friendship,  in  a  letter  from  the  Hon.  the  Se- 
cretary of  War,  requesting  me  to  report  to  his  office  the  present  state  of  our 
school,  with  the  views  and  prospects  for  extending  the  plan,  &c.,  &c.,  in  order  to 
come  in  for  a  share  of  the  ten  thousand  dollars,  which  the  President  wishes  to 
divide  among  those  who  are  laboring  for  the  instruction  of  our  aborigines.  The 
present  year,  1819,  will,  in  the  eyes  of  posterity,  form  a  memorable  era  in  the 
annals  of  the  Cherokee  nation.  Great  things  have  been  achieved  for  them,  and 
deep  and  pure  plans  for  their  future  felicity,  have  been  laid.  Memorable,  also, 
will  this  year  be  in  the  annals  of  Spring  Place.  The  number  of  souls  gained  to 
the  banner  of  Christ,  in  this  place,  since  the  commencement  of  this  year,  though 
not  great  in  itself,  exceeds  the  number  of  those  gained  in  the  nineteen  years  pre- 
ceding. It  was  in  1799,  when  the  Cherokee  chiefs  granted  permission  to  mis- 
sionaries of  our  church  to  reside  among  them,  which,  therefore,  is  deemed  the 
beginning  of  this  mission.  The  first  ten  years  produced  no  apparent  fruit  of  the 
preaching  of  the  Gospel ;  then  the  first  person  was  by  baptism  engrafted  in 
the  Church  of  Christ.  Two  years  later,  a  second  person,  and  at  the  same 


APPENDIX.  315 

time  a  white  man,  joined  it.  These  three  constituted  our  whole  church,  until  the 
month  of  March  last.  But  although  the  number  was  deplorably  small,  yet  we 
have  found  the  promise  of  Jesus  truly  verified  :  "  Where  two  or  three  are  gathered 
together,  in  my  name,  there  will  I  be  in  the  midst  of  them."  In  March,  the  mo- 
ther of  the  renowned  James  Vaun  was  baptized,  and  shortly  after  her  husband, 
a  white  man,  joined  the  church.  Since  the  beginning  of  September,  William 
A.  Hicks,  brother  to  your  friend,  Charles  R.  Hicks,  and  his  wife,  and  the  wife  of 
Major  Ridge,  whom  you  probably  have  seen,  as  he  was  formerly  with  a  deputa- 
tion at  Washington,  have  been  baptized  into  Christ's  death.  Perhaps,  ere  the 
year  closes,  another  may  be  added  to  this  number,  as  we  know  some  who  are 
earnestly  seeking  those  things  which  the  world  cannot  give.  Do  not  these 
things,  and  many  more,  not  here  enumerated,  warrant  us  to  say :  "  The  Lord 
hath  done  great  things  for  us,"  &c.  Our  faith  has,  indeed,  been  much  strength- 
ened, and  our  hope  enlivened,  that  we  shall  yet  see  the  knowledge  of  our  God 
and  Redeemer  fill  this  land,  and  the  poor  Cherokees  walk  in  the  light  of  His 
countenance.  May  He  make  us  faithful  in  His  service,  diligent  in  the  work  as- 
signed us,  humble  in  ourselves,  but  confident  in  our  reliance  on  Him.  May  He 
also  be  with  you,  our  esteemed  friend,  and  make  your  house  His  temple, 
wherein  He  dwelleth. 

Spring  Place,  July  IQth,  1820. — From  this  wilderness,  we  cannot,  indeed, 
cheer  your  heart  with  the  news  that  a  nation  is  born,  or  converted  in  a  day.  The 
work  of  the  Lord  is  progressing  but  slowly — still  it  is  progressing  ;  and  for  the 
smallness  of  the  number  of  converts,  we  are  amply  compensated  by  the  humble 
Christian  walk  of  those  who  profess  the  religion  of  Jesus.  Hitherto  we  have 
not  had  the  painful  experience  to  make  use  of  church  discipline,  on  account  of 
deviations  ;  how  long  we  shall  be  favored  to  continue  in  this  pleasing  course,  is 
known  to  Him  only,  before  whose  eyes  the  secrets  of  hearts  are  disclosed.  May 
He  grant  us  a  long  continuance  of  it ;  and  whenever  it  shall  be  our  lot  to  expe- 
rience a  reverse,  may  He  endow  us  with  wisdom  from  on  high,  to  act  accord- 
ing to  the  mind  of  Christ.  On  Sunday  next,  God  willing,  two  more  of  the 
Cherokee  tribe  shall  receive  the  seal  of  regeneration  in  holy  baptism.  May  their 
names,  and  the  names  of  their  predecessors,  be  enrolled  in  the  book  of  the  Lamb, 
and  there  found  unblotted  in  His  great  day  !  Our  little  flock  will  then,  besides 
ourselves,  consist  of  twelve  persons. 


(D.) 
CITY  OF  WASHINGTON,  25th  January,  1827. 

Sir — We  beg  leave  to  state,  that  in  our  opinion,  much  good  would  result  to  the 
various  Indian  tribes  within  our  jurisdiction,  and  the  humane  objects  of  the  gov- 
ernment be  greatly  promoted,  by  sending  some  intelligent  individual  to  visit  those 
tribes  upon  whom  it  is  deemed  most  important  to  make  a  favorable  impression  as 
to  their  settlement  west  of  the  river  Mississippi. 

Colonel  McKenney  is  not  only  fully  possessed  with  the  views  of  the  govern- 
ment, but,  in  our  opinion,  he  possesses  more  the  confidence  of  the  Indians  than 
any  person  in  the  United  States,  who  could  so  easily  be  employed  for  this  desira- 
ble object.  He  has  perhaps,  likewise,  equal,  if  not  a  superior  knowledge  of  the 
Indian  character  and  disposition  than  any  person  who  would  likely  undertake  this 


316  APPENDIX. 

work.  We  would,  therefore,  suggest  the  propriety  and  expediency  of  directing 
him  under  proper  instructions  to  visit  the  Chickasaws,  Choctaws,  and  other  south- 
ern tribes,  after  he  has  completed  his  work  to  the  north,  with  Governor  Cass,  this 
coming  summer.  The  seat  of  that  operation  will  be  at  Green  Bay,  we  under- 
stand, from  which  point  it  would  be  easy  and  convenient  for  him  to  pass  through 
the  Western  States  to  the  tribes,  and  visit  most,  if  not  all,  previous  to  the  next 
session  of  Congress. 

There  is  a  peculiar  propriety  of  devolving  this  duty  upon  the  person  who  is  at  the 
head  of  the  Bureau  of  Indian  Affairs,  and  if  he  should  fail  in  making  as  deep  and 
favorable  an  impression,  in  a  first  visit,  as  may  be  anticipated  or  desired,  yet  the  in- 
formation which  he  would  acquire,  and  bring  back  to  the  government,  of  the  con- 
dition, feelings  and  disposition  of  those  tribes,  would  be,  in  our  opinion,  exceed- 
ingly valuable ;  and  the  good  resulting  from  such  a  tour,  in  this  respect,  would 
be  worth  the  trouble  and  little  expense  attending  such  a  work.  With  these  im- 
pressions we  recommend  that  such  information  be  obtained,  as  to  what  are  the 
real  views  and  feelings  of  these  tribes,  and  we  respectfully  recommend  that  Colo- 
nel McKenney  be  employed  to  ascertain  and  report  them,  and  to  execute  such 
other  trust  as  you  may  deem  it  proper  to  confide  to  him. 

With  great  respect, 

Your  obedient  servants, 

RICHARD  M.  JOHNSON, 
THOMAS  B.  REED, 
WILLIAM  H.  HARRISON, 
WILLIAM  HENDRICKS, 

H.    W.    CONWAY, 

J.  S.  JOHNSTON, 
H.  W.  EDWARDS, 
E.  F.  CHAMBERS, 
T.  P.  MOORE, 
WILLIAM  McLEAN, 
WILLIAM  HAILE, 
JOSEPH  M.  WHITE. 


(E.) 
CHICKASAW  NATION,  10th  October,  1827. 

Sir — I  have  met  the  Chickasaw  chiefs  in  council,  and,  in  pursuance  of  your 
instructions,  ascertained  their  views  in  regard  to  their  removal  west  of  the  Mis- 
sissippi. They  consent  to  go,  on  the  following  basis  : 

First,  that  provision  be  made  for  three  chiefs  from  each  of  their  districts,  (there 
are  four  of  these,)  three  white  men  of  their  own  choosing,  and  a  physician,  to  be 
joined  by  three  scientific  men  from  Washington,  or  elsewhere,  to  be  appointed  by 
the  government,  to  go  with  them  and  visit  the  country,  and  judge  of  its  fitness  in 
soil,  climate,  &c.  They  agree  to  go  upon  this  business  of  examination  on  the 
first  of  May  next. 

Second. — If  they  approve  the  country,  they  consent  to  accept  it,  acre  for  acre, 
for  theirs,  provided  it  be  cleared  of  every  body,  and  guarantied  to  them  for  ever ; 
and  provided  they  be  placed  upon  it,  in  such  improvements  as,  on  examination, 


APPENDIX.  317 

they  may  be  found  to  own  here,  in  houses,  mills,  fences,  orchards,  stock,  &c. ; 
and  provided  the  country  be  laid  off  into  counties,  and  schools  established  in  suf- 
ficient number  for  the  education  of  their  sons  and  daughters,  and  a  government 
be  established  over  them,  upon  the  basis  of  that  of  the  Michigan  Territory  ;  and 
provided  that  a  suitable  force  be  kept  among  them  to  secure  them  from  harm, 
which  they  propose  to  augment  by  an  organization  of  their  people  upon  the  plan 
of  our  militia ;  the  whole  to  embrace,  on  their  part,  political  privileges  and  civil 
advantages,  as  these  are  laid  down  in  your  report. 

I  need  not  tell  you,  that  I  found  the  subject  one  of  extreme  delicacy,  and  the 
way  to  it  almost  wholly  barred  by  excited  prejudices  and  a  deep  sense  of  wrongs 
long  endured.  Upon  a  full  survey  of  the  whole  ground,  from  Saturday  till  yes- 
terday, I  concluded  there  was  but  one  way  of  approach — this  I  attempted,  and  it 
succeeded  as  stated. 

I  will  have  the  honor  of  forwarding,  the  moment  I  can  find  time  to  copy  them, 
my  address,  with  a  minute  of  the  proceedings  of  the  council,  and  the  answer  of 
the  chiefs.  The  council  included  all  the  chiefs  of  the  nation  except  three,  and 
these  were  prevented,  by  causes  over  which  they  had  no  control,  from  attending — 
but  the  nation  will  bear  out  those  who  have  acted,  and  it  now  remains  for  the  gov- 
ernment to  sanction  and  confirm  the  understanding,  or  to  decline  it. 

I  shall  leave  here  in  half  an  hour  for  the  Choctaw  Nation,  having  sent  runners 
ahead  to  Colonel  Ward,  to  assemble  the  chiefs  to  meet  me.  I  wrote  in  haste, 
and  in  my  tent,  and  upon  my  knee,  not  a  little  fatigued  from  the  anxiety  and  toil 
of  yesterday,  and  from  being  up  till  late  concluding  and  signing  the  conditional 
understanding  with  these  people. 

The  Rev.  Messrs.  Stuart  and  Bell,  and  Blair  and  Holmes,  attended  the  council. 
It  affords  me  sincere  pleasure  to  state,  that  those  gentlemen  most  heartily  co- 
operate with  the  government  on  the  subject  of  removing,  to  a  permanent  and 
suitable  home,  these  long  oppressed  people.  They  agree  that  the  salvation  of 
these  people  can  be  secured  in  no  other  way.  You  may  rely  upon  it  that  the 
Chickasaws  are  honest  in  their  designs  to  fulfil  every  tittle  of  their  obligations,  if 
their  terms  are  accepted.  I  believe  it  is  the  only  ground  on  which  they  will  lis- 
ten to  an  exchange  of  country,  and,  I  must  add,  we  ought  to  ask  of  them  to  as- 
sume no  other. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be, 
With  great  respect, 

Your  most  obedient  servant, 

THOMAS  L.  MCKENNET. 

To  the  Hon.  JAMES  BARBOUR,  Secretary  of  War. 

I  omitted  to  add,  that  a  condition  is  inserted  providing  for  reservations  for  some 
of  their  people,  not  exceeding  twenty.  I  could  not  do  else,  after  so  unexpectedly 
favorable  a  result,  than  make  these  chiefs,  some  of  them  aged  and  poor,  and  who 
had  come  from  twenty  to  fifty  miles  to  meet  me,  without  knowing  for  what,  (for 
I  kept  everything  to  myself  till  yesterday,  except  to  tell  them  and  to  counsel 
them  as  their  friend,)  a  present  of  $50  each,  and  the  lesser  chiefs  $25,  with  a 
present  of  goods  amounting  to  about  $245,  for  their  families,  in  all  about  $750, 
on  bills  to  each  one  on  Major  Smith,  with  authority  to  him  to  draw  on  you  for 
their  respective  amounts. 


318  APPENDIX. 

This  is  a  cheap  council.  I  have  promised  a  medal  to  each  chief  in  addition, 
and  some  three  or  four  rifles  to  the  young  men.  I  have  tried  to  give  pleasure  to 
all,  and  I  believe  have  succeeded. 

THOMAS  L.  MCKENNEY. 

MAYHEW  MISSION  STATION, 
Choctaw  Country,  October  10th,  1827. 

Sir — I  had  the  honor  of  writing  to  you  yesterday  from  the  Chickasaw  Nation, 
thirty-five  miles  from  this,  that  I  had,  the  day  before,  concluded  a  conditional  ar- 
rangement with  the  chiefs  of  that  nation  for  an  exchange  of  their  country  ;  the 
outlines  of  which  arrangement  I  had  the  honor,  in  that  letter,  hastily  to  embody. 
I  now  enclose,  herewith,  copies  of  my  address,  their  answer,  and  my  reply,  mark- 
ed A.  B.  C. 

It  will  be  seen  from  my  address,  that  I  act,  as  well  for  the  Indians  as  for  the 
government ;  and  from  their  answer,  that  the  address  was.  in  all  things,  fully  re- 
sponded to.  It  may,  perhaps,  be  proper  for  me  to  explain  why  I  assumed  to  act  in 
this  twofold  character  ;  and  why  the  Indians  were  not  left  to  propose  their  own 
terms.  It  might  be  sufficient  for  me  to  state,  that  I  have  never  been  able  to  sepa- 
rate the  justice  and  honor  of  the  government  from  the  best  interests  of  the  Indians  ; 
and  assuming  this  to  be  true,  my  duty,  to  say  nothing  of  policy,  embraced  not  only 
the  province  of  a  negotiator  on  the  part  of  the  government,  but  under  the  existing 
state  of  things,  of  moderator,  and  so  far  as  I  might  esteem  it  essential  to  the  great 
object  in  view,  guide  also.  And  it  might  be  added,  that  no  exception  ought  to  be 
taken  against  the  adoption  of  any  means,  that  are  in  themselves  moral  and  just, 
which  may  be  used  with  the  view  of  accomplishing  a  righteous  end  ;  and  surely 
none,  if  those  means  result,  as  in  the  present  case,  in  the  accomplishment  of  such 
an  end.  But  I  prefer  to  be  more  particular. 

Aware  of  the  settled  dislike  of  these  people  to  anything  in  the  shape  of  a  direct 
proposition  for  their  country,  and  that  recent  negotiations,  though  conducted  by 
three  distinguished  citizens,  chosen  no  less  on  account  of  their  intelligence,  than 
for  their  admitted  knowledge  of  the  Indian  character,  had  totally  failed ;  and  that 
the  large  amount  of  means,  which,  by  Congressional  appropriation,  had  been  pla- 
ced at  their  disposal  as  an  auxiliary  aid,  had  been  equally  inoperative,  it  would 
have  been  presumptuous  in  me,  when  employed  in  the  same  service,  and  so  imme- 
diately after  the  recent  failure,  and  unsupported  by  a  single  dollar,  to  have  occu- 
pied any  one  of  the  positions  assumed  by  those  commissioners ;  or  to  have  ap- 
proached the  subject  by  any  one  of  the  avenues  which  had  been  trodden  by  them. 
There  appeared  to  me  to  be  one  way,  and  only  one  way,  left,  and  that  was  the  way 
of  my  preference,  and  would  have  been  under  any  circumstances.  But  although 
thus  restricted  by  my  views  of  the  subject,  I  felt  the  greater  enlargement,  and 
more  confirmed  hopes  of  success.  The  way,  in  a  word,  was  precisely  that  in 
which,  from  my  heart,  I  preferred  to  approach  these  people.  Accordingly,  I  gave 
out,  on  entering  the  nation,  that  my  visit  was  a  visit  of  friendship,  that  I  had  taken 
a  long  journey  to  see  and  shake  hands  with  my  brothers,  the  chiefs  of  the  Chicka- 
saw nation,  and  as  they  were  scattered  over  the  country,  and  my  time  was  short, 
I  hoped  they  would  meet  me  at  Levi  Colbert's,  where  I  would  remain  a  few  days 
to  give  them  time  to  come  in.  And  to  make  sure  of  their  receiving  this  message, 
I  sent  runners,  where  I  could  do  so,  to  deliver  it  to  the  chiefs,  personally.  On  ar- 


APPENDIX.  319 

riving  at  Colbert's,  which  was  on  the  eighth  day  after  my  leaving  Memphis,  (vis- 
iting in  my  way,  in  pursuance  of  your  instructions,  the  missionary  establishments, 
which,  together  with  my  visits  to  the  agencies  on  my  entire  route,  also  in  pursu- 
ance of  your  instructions,  will  form  the  subject  of  a  special  communication,)  I 
found  I  had  been  preceded  by  Major  James  Colbert,  and  the  old  interpreter, 
McGee,  who,  on  receiving  my  message,  had  hastened  to  meet  me.  I  was  receiv- 
ed by  Levi  Colbert,  who  is  the  counsellor  of  the  nation,  and  by  these  two  men,  with 
every  demonstration  of  gladness.  I  repeated  the  message  that  I  had  sent  through 
their  country,  when  Levi  Colbert,  in  reply  to  the  hope  I  expressed  that  I  should 
not  be  disappointed,  asked  how  long  I  could  remain  ?  I  answered,  until  Monday. 
"  If,"  said  he,  "  you  will  tarry  till  Wednesday,  I  will  try  and  have  them  all  in,  and 
if  possible,  by  Tuesday,  at  twelve  o'clock."  I  consented  ;  when  he  immediately 
sent  off  runners  from  twenty  to  fifty  miles  round.  Meanwhile  the  chiefs  began  to 
arrive,  until  by  Monday  night  they  had  all  come  in  except  three,  and  two  of  these 
were  sick,  and  one  was  absent ;  one  of  the  former,  however,  sent  an  aid  to  repre- 
sent him.  Each  chief  met  me  with  the  utmost  cordiality,  and  in  terms  of  friend- 
ship and  confidence  that  it  would  be  tedious  to  state.  I  will,  however,  note  the 
language  of  Levi  Colbert.  "  It  makes  my  heart  glad,  brother,"  said  he,  "  to  see 
you.  I  feel  as  if  some  good  thing  was  to  happen  to  us."  Then  grasping  my 
hand,  he  continued :  "  Yes,  and  never  since,  about  three  years  ago,  when  I  left 
my  son  with  you,  have  I  gone  to  sleep  without  having  you  before  my  eyes.  You 
are  our  friend,  and  we  all  look  upon  your  visit  as  a  great  blessing,  for  we  are  in 
trouble."  *  I  replied,  that  a  regard  for  them,  and  a  strong  desire  to  see  them,  and 
to  see  them  happy,  had  brought  me  into  their  country ;  that  their  troubles,  of 
whatever  sort  they  might  be,  should  have  my  closest  attention,  and  such  as  I  could 
relieve  on  the  spot,  I  would ;  and  such  as  I  could  not,  I  would  take  home  to  their 
Great  Father  at  Washington,  who  looked  upon  them  as  his  children,  and  would 
listen  attentively  to  their  cries  ;  and  then  added,  that  I  knew  of  some  of  their  trou- 
bles, and  serious  enough  they  were,  and  if  they  would  meet  me  in  council,  in  the 
morning,  I  would  prove  to  them  that  I  was  their  friend,  by  showing  them  the  way 
to  become  a  great  and  happy  people,  and  by  advice  in  other  things,  which,  if  they 
regarded  their  own  happiness,  and  the  happiness  of  their  children,  I  hoped  they 
would  take.  They  greeted  this  language  like  a  people  would  the  return  of  milder 
and  calmer  seasons,  after  having  been  long  buffeted  by  storms  and  tempests,  and 
replied  :  "  We  know  you  well.  We  promise  to  meet  you  in  council,  and  listen  well 
to  what  you  may  say."  I  then  prepared  the  address,  as  it  now  stands,  giving  none 
of  them,  meanwhile,  the  slightest  conception  of  the  nature  of  the  advice  to  which 
I  had  referred,  nor  had  they  any  idea  of  it  until  it  was  disclosed  by  the  address  it- 
self, in  council. 

It  may  now  be  seen  why  I  adopted  the  course  I  did.  I  found  myself  surround- 
ed by  a  people  who  appeared  to  look  up  to  me  as  their  friend.  I  felt  that  I  had 
their  confidence,  and  knew  well  that  the  charm  of  this  powerful  influence  would 
have  been  dissipated  by  the  very  first  sentence  that  I  might  have  delivered,  bear- 
ing directly  on  the  subject  of  an  exchange  of  their  country.  All  their  hopes  in  my 


*  His  reference  was,  as  I  found  afterwards,  to  their  domestic  matters,  but  especially  to 
their  agency  concerns. 


320  APPENDIX. 

friendship  would  have  vanished,  and  the  issue,  I  am  confident,  would  have  been  a 
total  failure,  besides  a  loss  of  their  confidence  in  the  future. 

Our  council  met  the  next  day,  (Tuesday,)  at  10  o'clock.  There  had  been  the 
evening  before  a  severe  storm  of  thunder  and  lightning,  and  rain.  The  morning 
was  bright,  and  calm,  and  beautiful.  I  told  them  I  could  not  help  thinking  that 
the  confusion  and  storm  of  last  night,  its  restless  and  unsettled  character,  and  the 
suffering  which  everything  around  appeared  to  endure,  was  an  emblem  of  their 
own  past  lives.  They  had  never  been  a  composed  and  settled  people,  but  were 
like  the  storm  of  yesterday,  in  constant  excitement,  and  knew  no  rest.  They  an- 
swered, "  It  is  so."  But  this  morning,  I  continued,  is  calm  and  beautiful ;  and  I 
cannot  help  hoping  that  the  Great  Spirit  has  sent  it  as  an  emblem  of  what  your 
future  lives  are  to  be.  They  said,  "  It  did  look  a  good  deal  like  it."  Four  of  the 
missionaries  being  present,  having  come  that  morning  on  my  invitation  to  attend 
the  council,  I  added — The  business  we  are  about  to  engage  in  being  viewed  by  me 
of  the  greatest  importance,  and  as  the  Great  Spirit  directs  and  governs  all  things, 
and  takes  pleasure  in  seeing  his  children  happy,  it  is  my  wish,  if  you  have  no  ob- 
jection, that  our  aged  father  Bell,  would  ask  the  Great  Spirit  to  smile  upon  our 
council,  and  direct  our  deliberations  to  a  happy  and  prosperous  issue ;  that  in  their 
Great  Father's  great  council  in  Washington,  a  good  man  every  morning  spoke  to 
the  Great  Spirit,  and  asked  for  direction  in  all  things,  and  to  bless  their  delibera- 
tions. They  answered,  "  It  will  be  very  agreeable  to  us  ;"  when  this  excellent, 
and  useful,  and  venerable  missionary,  prayed  accordingly.  I  then  told  them  I  had 
a  great  respect  for  the  pipe  :  it  was  an  emblem  of  peace  and  friendship  :  that  I  had 
brought  a  long  and  handsome  one,  made  by  their  brothers  on  the  other  side  of  the 
Mississippi ;  which,  if  one  of  their  young  men  would  fill  and  light,  we  would 
smoke.  They  answered — "  That  is  good — the  pipe  is  the  Indian's — we  will  be 
glad  to  smoke."  It  was  lit,  and  smoked  accordingly. 

I  then  told  them  I  was  ready  to  hear  them ;  and,  as  they  had  spoken  of  troubles, 
I  would  listen  attentively  to  them,  and  promised  to  relieve  them  all  I  could. 
[These  I  will  have  the  honor  to  hand  to  you  on  my  return,  with  a  statement  of 
my  reply,  and  what  I  did  towards  a  relief  of  their  grievances.] 

Having  heard  all  they  had  to  say,  and  noted  it  all  down,  I  told  them  I  would 
now  make  good  my  word,  by  showing  them  that  I  was  their  friend,  and  give  them 
advice  which  I  doubted  not  they  would  follow ;  that  to  have  all  well  understood, 
and  that  their  interpreter  might  be  able  the  better  to  interpret  it,  I  had  written  it 
down,  and  would  read  it.  They  spoke  and  said,  "  We  will  be  glad  to  hear  you." 
I  then  delivered  the  address,  and  the  council  rose  at  about  one  o'clock.  In  the 
afternoon  they  assembled,  by  themselves,  to  deliberate ;  and  in  two  hours  sent  me 
word  they  had  agreed  to  all  I  had  said,  and  asked  for  my  paper,  from  which  to 
make  out  their  answer.  By  twelve  o'clock  at  night  the  whole  business  was 
closed. 

I  hope  I  may  be  excused  for  including  in  this  report  the  foregoing  detail.  It 
will  no  doubt  be  tedious,  but  I  mean  it  to  take  the  place  of  the  usual  accompani- 
ment of  a  separate  paper  containing  the  proceedings  of  such  councils. 

I  will  now  proceed  to  offer  some  remarks  on  the  terms  proposed  for  an  exchange 
of  country  with  those  people,  and  which  they  are  sincere  in  their  desire  to  carry 
into  effect ;  and  upon  the  probable  cost  attending  their  execution. 

The  reasonableness  of  the  liberty  proposed  to  be  granted  to  them  first  to  exam- 


APPENDIX.  321 

ine  the  country,  will  not  be  disputed ;  nor  will,  it  is  presumed,  the  stipulation 
which  provides  that  the  cost  of  the  examination  shall  be  ours.  The  justice  of 
both  is  too  apparent  to  need  illustration  or  justification.  The  proposition  to  emi- 
grate comes  from  us,  not  from  them.  The  cost  of  looking  at  the  country  to  which 
they  are  invited  to  go,  and  which  we  propose  to  give  them  in  exchange  for  theirs, 
it  were  time  thrown  away  to  attempt  to  prove,  should  be  ours.  And  as  little  would 
it  comport  with  justice,  for  us  to  ask  them  to  leave  their  homes,  and  such  comforts 
as  they  have  here,  without  providing  them  with  homes  as  good  there,  and  comforts 
of  at  least  equal  extent.  Their  work-shops  and  their  mills,  though  few  in  num- 
ber, and  common  enough,  are  the  labor  of  their  own  hands,  and  should  not  be 
asked  of  them  without  an  equivalent,  not  in  quantity  only,  but  in  kind — and  even 
improved.  They  should  not  be  left  to  toil  again  in  their  erection.  A  want  of 
skill  quadruples  the  labor,  if  performed  by  them,  and  the  absence  of  science  mul- 
tiplies it  even  beyond  that.  The  work  should  be  done  for  them.  As  to  their 
stock,  it  is  their  personal  wealth ;  and  not  attaching  to  the  soil  here,  and  being  in- 
dispensable to  them  anywhere,  it  should  not  be  considered  a  burden  to  replace  it 
for  them,  and  at  our  cost,  at  their  new  homes.  Theirs  they  could  not  get  there ; 
and  it  would  not  comport  with  our  magnanimity,  as  a  great  nation,  to  ask  them  to 
sell,  and  give  us  the  money  wherewith  to  purchase  more !  When  they  shall  sell, 
they  will  need  the  proceeds  to  pay  off  their  debts,  settle  up  their  affairs  here,  and 
should  any  be  left,  it  will  be  needed,  wherewith  to  secure  those  little  comforts 
which,  as  human  beings,  they  may  require  in  a  new  country ;  and  for  which  there 
is  no  provision  in  the  terms  of  exchange,  not  even  the  usual  one  of  support  for  a 
year  after  they  shall  arrive  at  their  new  homes.  This,  then,  will  be  the  only  item 
for  which  we  do  not  receive  at  least  a  partial  equivalent  here,  in  the  increased 
value  which  their  houses  and  fences,  &c.,  will  add  to  the  lands  proposed  to  be  left 
by  them  ;  unless,  indeed,  it  be  thought  proper  to  count  the  cost  of  supporting  the 
government  of  the  territory  proposed  to  be  established  over  them,  and  of  the  coun- 
ty schools.  These  latter,  we  are  bound,  in  common  justice,  to  support  anywhere, 
if  we  mean  to  maintain  our  character  for  an  enlightened  and  humane  and  Chris- 
tian people ;  and  as  to  the  former,  or  both,  what,  I  ask,  is  their  cost,  compared 
with  the  proceeds  of  all  this  vast  and  fine  country  which  they  propose  to  abandon  ? 
Nor  will  it  be  thought  unreasonable,  that  they  should  be  made  secure,  in  the  new 
country  to  which  they  propose  to  go  ;  because,  here  they  lie  down  and  rise  up  in 
the  most  perfect  security — there  their  fears,  at  least,  may  be  alarmed,  if  no  more. 
It  becomes  us,  therefore,  to  see  to  their  security.  Justice  and  humanity  both 
demand  it. 

It  is  presumed  that  no  exception  will  be  taken  to  their  having  a  government,  or 
their  being  represented  in  the  manner  stipulated  in  the  Congress.  Both  measures 
are  right  in  themselves  ;  and  as  to  the  privilege  of  sending  a  delegate  to  Congress, 
if  the  privilege  of  living  under  a  government  be  ceded,  it  appears  to  follow  as  a 
consequence,  and  a  consequence  no  less  important  to  ourselves  than  to  them. 
This  connecting  tie  between  the  territorial  government  there,  and  the  Congress 
here,  it  is  presumed,  would  be  esteemed  indispensable.  But  if  there  be  any  ex- 
ceptions taken  to  it,  they  can  be  those  only  arising  out  of  prejudice ;  and  this  feel- 
ing it  is  easier  to  meet  and  overcome  by  precedent  than  argument.  In  compli- 
ment to  it,  therefore,  I  will  refer  to  a  similar  privilege,  guarantied  in  1785, 1 


322  APPENDIX. 

think  ;  and  in  the  12th  article  of  the  treaty  of  Hopewell.  If  I  am  not  mistaken, 
the  provision  is  in  these  words  : — 

"  That  the  Indians,  (meaning  the  Cherokees,)  may  have  full  confidence  in  the 
justice  of  the  United  States,  respecting  their  interests,  they  shall  have  the  right  to 
send  a  deputy,  of  THEIR  OWN  CHOICE,  whenever  they  think  fit,  to  Congress"  This 
may  suffice. 

It  may  possibly  be  thought  by  some,  that  money  should  have  been  proposed,  as 
an  equivalent  for  the  enumerated  improvements  which  it  is  proposed  to  abandon, 
and  on  the  grounds,  that  the  government  would  be  saved  the  trouble  of  building 
and  putting  up  houses,  and  mills  and  fences,  &c.,  in  their  new  country.  I  could 
not  in  my  conscience  recommend  this.  All  who  know  anything  of  the  Indian 
character,  know  how  improvident  they  are,  and  will  admit  that  a  moneyed  consid- 
eration would  be  a  fruitful  source  of  evil  to  them,  and  would,  doubtless,  render  the 
majority  of  them  homeless  and  houseless  for  the  rest  of  their  lives.  A  recent  il- 
lustration has  been  had,  of  the  impoverishing  effects  of  a  money  payment,  in  the 
Creeks.  I  believe  them  to  be  poorer,  and  to  have  suffered  more,  since  they  re- 
ceived the  large  amount  secured  to  them  under  the  treaty  of  Washington,  than 
they  have  been  for  twenty  years  before.  Besides,  it  will  not  be  a  task  of  such 
difficult  accomplishment,  nor  will  the  cost  be  so  enormous,  as  perhaps  at  first  view 
it  might  appear ;  and  this  I  proceed  now  to  show. 

In  regard  to  the  first,  the  whole  undertaking  should  be  upon  contracts,  in  the 
usual  form  of  public  advertisement,  and  by  bond  and  security  for  the  faithful  exe- 
cution of  the  trust.  There  should  be  three  contracts ;  one  for  building  houses  and 
mills  ;  one  for  putting  up  fences  and  planting  orchards ;  and  one  for  supplying  the 
stock,  &c.  Commissioners  should  be  appointed,  to  examine  and  report  the  kind, 
and  sizes,  and  numbers  of  houses,  and  the  quantity  of  fences  and  orchards,  &c., 
here.  And  now  for  the  probable  cost. 

The  population  of  the  Chickasaw  nation  may  be  put  down  at  four  thousand, 
they  having  increased  about  four  hundred  within  the  last  five  or  six  years.  I  will 
suppose  the  families  to  average  five  souls  each ;  which  will  give  eight  hundred 
houses.  These  houses,  judging  from  what  I  have  seen,  and  from  inquiries  made 
with  a  view  to  the  estimate,  may  be  built,  with  the  addition  of  puncheon  floors, 
for  an  average  cost  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  dollars.  This  I  think  a  high  estimate. 
The  most  of  them  I  have  seen,  are  of  rough  logs,  piled  up  in  a  square,  with  roofs 
of  boards,  confined  down  by  pins  and  saplings,  and  daubed  in,  (such  of  them  as 
are  filled  in  at  all,)  with  mud.  The  chimneys,  those  that  have  any,  are  generally 
of  split  or  round  sticks,  put  up  in  squares,  and  daubed  with  mud  ;  and  the  houses 
are  generally  small  and  comfortless,  and  might,  numbers  of  them,  be  put  up  for 
ten  and  twenty  dollars.  But  there  are  some  comfortable  houses  owned  by  the  half 
and  quarter  breeds,  some  of  which,  and  the  best  of  them,  (but  they  are  few,)  may 
have  cost  a  thousand,  and  some,  including  their  cribs  and  stables,  &c.,  two  thou- 
sand dollars.  The  estimate  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  dollars  for  each  family,  I 
think,  will  cover  the  cost  of  building,  if  the  country  they  may  select  be  a  wooded 
country,  and  they  will  take  care  to  select  no  other.  This  branch  of  the  expendi- 
ture, then,  may  be  put  down  at  one  hundred  and  twenty  thousand  dollars. 

The  number  of  their  mills,  it  is  believed,  does  not  exceed  ten.  I  estimate  these 
to  cost  an  average  of  five  hundred  dollars  each,  which  is  five  thousand  dollars. 


APPENDIX.  323 

Their  work-shops,  I  do  not  think,  exceed  fifty— which,  with  their  tools,  may  be 
estimated  at  fifty  dollars  each  ;  or  twenty-five  hundred  dollars  for  this  item. 

Their  orchards  are  few,  and  limited  in  extent,  and  may  be  replaced  for  one 
thousand  dollars. 

Their  fences  may  be  estimated  to  cost  fifty  thousand  dollars. 

Their  stock  of  all  kinds,  averaging  two  horses  and  two  cows,  and  five  hogs  and 
a  dozen  of  poultry  to  each ;  and  the  price  of  a  horse  at  forty  dollars,  of  a  cow  at 
ten,  a  hog  at  five,  and  a  dozen  of  poultry  at  one  dollar,  will  make  a  total  of  eighty- 
four  thousand  eight  hundred  dollars. 

The  probable  cost  of  the  visit  to  examine  the  country,  I  estimate  at  $10,000 ; 
and  of  their  removal  to  it,  at  one  hundred  thousand  dollars. 

The  total  of  cost,  (except  the  annual  estimate  for  the  government,  the  schools, 
and  the  military,)  is,  according  to  the  foregoing  estimate,  three  hundred  and  nine- 
ty-five thousand  eight  hundred  dollars — or,  suppose  a  fourth  be  added,  so  as  to  show 
the  utmost  extent  of  cost,  it  will  make  the  cost  $494,750. 

The  annual  expense,  on  account  of  the  government,  may  be  assumed  to  be  the 
same  as  that  of  Florida  or  Michigan ;  for  the  support  of  schools  annually,  for 
twenty  years,  (where  the  limit  may  be  fixed,)  at  $50,000,— and  for  the  military, 
not  more  than  it  would  require  to  support  ten  companies  elsewhere ;  and  I  as- 
sume, that  this  force,  if  judiciously  located  or  moved  about,  would  be  sufficient,  in 
the  present  broken  state  of  the  Indian  power ;  nor  need  this  be  retained  but  for  a 
few  years,  as  the  proposed  organization  of  their  own  people  will  doubtless,  very 
soon,  supersede  the  necessity  for  it. 

In  regard  to  the  missionary  establishments — these  would,  of  course,  be  broken 
up  here  ;  but  these  excellent  people  would  follow  their  present  charge  to  their  new 
homes.  Whilst  justice  would  demand  that  a  remuneration  of  the  amount  expend- 
ed by  them  in  buildings  and  improvements,  over  and  above  that  received  from  the 
government,  should  be  made  them,  it  would,  from  what  I  have  seen,  be  fully  reali- 
zed in  the  extra  price  which  the  lands  they  stand  on  would  bring ;  and  which 
might  be  sold,  owing  to  the  high  state  of  improvement  in  most  of  them,  at  a  great 
advance.  This  sum,  too,  would  form  part  of  the  fund  for  the  civilization  and 
improvement  of  the  Indians,  wherever  they  may  settle,  as  it  has  been  applied 
here. 

I  am  aware  that  exceptions  are  taken  by  some  to  the  policy  of  a  removal,  even 
under  such  circumstances,  or,  indeed,  under  any ;  but,  whenever  the  time  may 
come  for  a  trial,  it  can  be  defended ;  and  unless  I  am  wholly  deceived  in  the  en- 
tire scheme,  it  can  be  demonstrated  to  be  the  only  policy  by  which  the  Indians  can 
be  saved,  and  elevated  to  that  rank  of  being  which  there  can  be  doubt  it  is  the 
pleasure  of  their  Maker  they  should  enjoy. 

I  shall  leave  here  to-morrow  for  the  Choctaw  Agency,  having  sent  an  express 
with  my  greetings  to  the  chiefs,  and  an  invitation  to  meet  me  at  the  agency.  I 
hope  to  conclude  my  interview  with  them  by  Tuesday  next,  when  I  shall  pass  on 
to  the  Cherokees,  and  thence  to  the  Creeks.  Should  the  Creeks  not  have  con- 
cluded to  cede  that  strip  of  land,  I  shall  endeavor,  under  your  special  instructions, 
to  secure  it ;  and  will,  at  the  same  time,  ascertain  their  dispositions  to  unite  in  the 
plan  adopted  by  the  Chickasaws.  I  can  form  no  opinion  of  the  probable  success 
which  may  attend  my  interviews  with  the  remaining  tribes,  but  hope  for  the  best. 


324  APPENDIX. 

One  thing,  I  think,  may  be  assumed  as  certain ;  and  that  is,  if  the  Chickasaws  be- 
come once  placed  under  the  kind  of  government  proposed  to  be  given  to  them,  the 
other  three  southern  tribes  will  follow.     It  may  require  time,  but  they  will  all,  in 
my  opinion,  with  suitable  management,  eventually  go. 
I  have  the  honor  to  be, 

With  great  respect,  your  ob't  serv't, 

THOS.  L.  MCKENNEY. 
Hon.  JAMES  BARBOUR,  Secretary  of  War. 

Talk  delivered  to  the  Council  held  with  the  Chiefs  of  the  Chickasaw  Nation,  at  Levi 

Colbert's,  on  Tuesday,  October  9th,  1827,  by  Thomas  L.  McKenney. 

FRIENDS  AND  BROTHERS  :  I  have  long  wished  to  see  and  shake  hands  with  the 
chiefs  and  head  men  of  the  Chickasaw  nation.  The  Great  Spirit  has  made  my 
way  clearj  and  I  am  come.  My  heart  is  glad. 

Brothers  :  This  visit,  so  long  wished  for  on  my  part,  I  sincerely  hope  may  not  be 
without  its  use  to  you  and  your  people.  It  is  to  show  you  my  heart  that  I  have 
come.  I  know  there  is  nothing  in  it  but  friendship  for  you  ;  and  the  more  I  can 
make  my  heart  plain,  the  more  will  you  see  why  I  am  come.  I  have  nothing  to 
conceal  from  you  ;  you  are  my  brothers.  My  great  difficulty  will  be  in  making 
plain  to  you  what  I  see,  though  I  see  it  so  clearly  myself ;  and  that  is,  the  path 
which  is  to  lead  you  and  your  children's  children  to  prosperity  and  happiness.  Is 
not  this  the  path  you  all  desire  to  walk  in  ? 

Brothers :  Give  me  your  ears,  and,  what  is  of  equal  importance,  give  me  your 
confidence.  If  you  think  I  am  come  to  do  you  wrong,  or  give  you  bad  coun- 
sels, you  do  me  great  injustice.  I  am  not  come  but  as  your  friend,  and  if  there  is  a 
chief  present  who  doubts  this,  let  him  speak,  and  I  will  not  say  another  word. 

Brothers :  I  know  well  who  you  are  that  I  am  addressing.  I  know  you  are 
not  children,  but  men,  and  men  of  experience,  and  men  of  wisdom.  I  know, 
too,  that  the  smoke  of  this  council-fire  comes  not  of  ashes,  but  of  living  fire — it 
rises  out  of  our  hearts,  for  we  are  friends. 

Brothers :  You  have  long  had  your  eyes  open  upon  the  past.  You  have  seen 
much,  and  your  hearts  have  suffered  much. 

Brothers :  What  have  you  seen  ?  It  pains  me  to  call  your  attention  to  it — 
but  I  must  be  just  to  you  ;  and  if  a  review  of  what  has  gone  by  is  painful,  it  may 
also  be  useful.  Look  to  the  rising  sun  !  Was  there  not  a  time  when  the  red 
man  roamed  free  over  all  the  hills,  and  reposed  in  all  the  valleys,  even  to  where 
the  sun  comes  up  from  behind  the  eastern  mountains  ?  But  who  occupies  all 
that  great  country  now  ?  Not  the  red  men  !  Purchase  after  purchase  has  been 
made  until  those  who  are  left,  and  they  are  few,  indeed ;  (like  the  few  dying 
leaves  that  quiver  on  the  trees,  after  the  frost  has  come,)  until  those  few,  I  say, 
have  got  back  to  this  distant  region  ;  and  now,  though  you  were  once  a  strong 
and  mighty  people,  you  are  weak,  and  poor  and  helpless  ! 

Brothers :  This  thought  would  not  be  painful  to  you,  if,  after  all  your  difficul- 
ties, and  the  thinning  of  your  people,  those  of  you  who  remain  were  situated  as 
men  ought  to  be ;  if  your  present  state  were  secure ;  if  you  felt  easy  on  your 
lands  ;  and  if  no  more  evils  appear  to  await,  or  if  you  had  hope  to  cheer  you — a 
hope  that  would  say  something  like  this  to  you : 


APPENDIX.  325 

"  It  is  true  you  have  been  a  wandering  and  afflicted  people  ;  you  have  become 
diminished  to  a  few  ;  but  see  there  !  In  the  future  you  will  rejoice  and  be  glad  ; 
there  you  will  find  a  firm  footing.  No  people  will  ever  move  you  more.  Your 
children  will  flourish,  and  your  children's  children  will  be  a  happy  and  a  great 
people." 

Brothers :  Behold  that  hope  now  :  I  am  come  to  bring  it  to  you.  It  was  that 
you  might  hear  this  cheering  voice,  and  see  that  lovely  prospect,  that  I  am  come. 
I  knew  you  were  afflicted,  and  I  was  sorry  for  you — I  knew  you  were  in  dark- 
ness, and  I  am  come  to  bring  you  light.  But  listen  yet  longer  to  what  is  not  so 
agreeable. 

Brothers :  Need  I  tell  you,  who  know  so  well,  what  strife  there  is  all  around 
you  ?  How  your  father,  the  President,  is  pressed  to  buy  your  lands  ?  Need  I  tell 
you  that  it  is  because  your  country  is  surrounded,  and  pressed  upon  all  sides  by 
the  whites,  that  he  has  so  much  trouble  to  keep  you  from  being  crushed  by 
them  ?  Need  I  tell  you  that  your  friends  everywhere  are  full  of  anxiety  about 
you  ?  I  am  sure  I  need  not.  You  know  all  this,  and  you  feel  it  in  your  hearts, 
and  it  makes  you  sad  ! 

Brothers :  When  you  are  asked  to  exchange  your  country,  and  leave  it,  and 
go  to  another,  you  remember  the  past,  and  think  of  your  fathers.  You  say, 
"  Here  lie  the  bones  of  our  fathers,  and  here  has  been  the  home  of  our  infancy, 
and  we  love  this  country."  This  is  honorable  to  you.  It  is  proof  that  you  have 
hearts,  and  that  you  are  men.  I  think  the  more  of  a  man  who  cherishes  in  his  heart 
a  sacred  remembrance  of  his  father  and  mother,  and  who  loves  the  land  which  co- 
vers their  bones. 

Brothers :  All  that  is  noble :  but  then  you  are  not  to  forget  your  children,  and 
your  children's  children.  Your  fathers  are  no  more — their  spirits  are  gone  up  to 
the  Great  Spirit.  What  remains  of  them  is  but  dust.  They  feel  not,  and  care 
not,  whether  the  foot  of  the  red  or  the  white  man  treads  upon  their  graves.  But 
your  children  live,  and  they  feel,  and  they  will  feel,  down  to  the  latest  genera- 
tions. 

Brothers :  Whilst,  then,  you  cherish  a  sacred  remembrance  for  the  bones  of  your 
fathers,  forget  not  to  provide  for  your  children,  and  never  stop  a  moment,  but 
hasten  with  all  speed  to  place  them  in  a  situation  that  will  secure  them  against 
the  evils  that  your  fathers  have  endured,  and  from  the  sorrows  that  fill  and  afflict 
your  own  hearts.  This,  brothers,  is  wisdom.  The  past,  I  know,  has  been  cloudy 
and  dark  enough ;  but,  brothers,  be  not  discouraged :  the  Great  Spirit  will  yet 
open  your  way,  and  shine  upon  your  path. 

Brothers :  Am  I  too  long  keeping  you  from  a  sight  of  that  path  ?  Be  patient, 
and  I  will  show  it  to  you  in  good  time. 

Brothers:  It  was  but  the  other  day  that  you  met  commissioners  who  were 
sent  to  buy  your  country — you  know  what  passed  between  you  on  that  occa- 
sion. Now,  brothers,  I  admit  that  no  people  ought  to  be  asked  to  exchange  their 
situation,  without  a  certain  prospect  of  realizing  a  better ;  but  no  people  should 
be  so  unwise,  if  an  offer  is  made  that  will  better  their  condition,  to  reject  it. 
That,  you  know,  would  be  foolish,  and  men  do  not  act  so.  Men  always  are 
seeking  to  do  better.  That  is  right ;  and  it  was  to  improve,  and  do  better,  that 
the  Great  Spirit  put  man  on  the  earth. 

Brothers :  I  am  not  for  the  Indian's  taking  the  white  man's  word  in  an  affair 


326  APPENDIX. 

of  bargain  and  sale,  but  I  advise  him  always  to  examine  for  himself.  As  your 
friend,  I  tell  you,  now,  always  hear  attentively,  and  then  examine  closely,  and 
then  decide  ;  and  when  you  convince  yourselves  that  you  can  make  a  good  bar- 
gain, make  it,  but  be  careful. 

Brothers:  I  know  I  am  your  friend — I  have  even  suffered  for  being  so — yet  I 
would  not  ask  you  to  take  my  word  in  anything  affecting  your  present  or  future 
welfare  ;  but  I  would  prefer  that  you  should  examine  well  into  such  momentous 
subjects  for  yourselves.  All  I  feel  free  to  do,  is  to  shed  light  upon  your  destiny ; 
and,  as  a  brother,  advise ;  and  were  I  not  to  do  this,  I  should  not  be  worthy  to 
be  called  your  friend. 

Brothers :  I  wish  to  counsel  you  as  men,  and  not  as  children ;  and  I  am  mis- 
taken, if  your  wisdom  will  not  lead  you,  by  the  light  of  this  council-fire,  to  adopt 
my  counsels,  so  far  as  these  may  go ;  and  I  shall  take  care  that  they  shall  go  no 
farther  than  they  ought.  I  will  point  out  your  path,  and  show  you  the  way  to 
honor  and  prosperity.  It  will  be  left  to  you  to  walk  in  it,  or  take  another. 

Brothers :  It  is  said,  since  you  did  not  agree  to  the  proposals  of  the  commis- 
sioners, that  you  are  a  self-willed  and  obstinate  people.  I  do  not  believe  it.  But 
many  people,  who  do  not  know  you  as  well  as  I  do,  may  incline  to  think  this  true. 
This,  as  far  as  it  may  be  believed,  will  lessen  the  number  of  your  friends  ;  and 
these  are  few ;  you  have  not  to  spare.  Now,  I  wish  you  to  put  it  out  of  the  power 
of  anybody  to  say  so.  I  wish  you  to  take  such  steps  as  shall  convince  the  world 
that  you  are  a  people  who  require  no  more,  when  an  offer  is  made  to  you,  than 
that  your  acceptance  of  it  should  improve  your  condition,  and  put  you  out  of 
reach  of  the  evils  that  have  afflicted  you  in  the  past,  and  make  sure  your  prosper- 
ity for  the  future.  When,  by  your  conduct,  you  do  this,  you  strike  a  stroke  that 
will  break  down  the  power  of  your  enemies,  and  this  will  make  your  friends  nu- 
merous and  strong,  and  make  sure  your  prosperity  wherever  you  may  be. 

Brothers :  Is  not  all  this  reasonable  ?  Have  I  said  a  single  word  that  is  not  ex- 
actly agreeable  to  your  own  views  ?  Do  you  not  feel  in  your  hearts  that  what  I 
say  is  the  truth  ? 

Brothers :  I  see  the  causes  of  your  weakness  and  poverty — I  see  why  it  is  that 
your  fathers  never  maintained  their  ground,  and  the  reason  why  you  are  as  you 
are.  I  will  tell  you. 

Brothers :  Here  you  are  on  a  piece  of  land  surrounded  by  a  great  and  powerful 
nation.  In  that  nation  you  see  a  distribution  of  honors  and  appointments  to  office, 
in  the  state,  in  the  army,  and  in  the  navy.  You  see  the  white  man  and  his  chil- 
dren flourish  and  prosper  all  round  you,  and  made  great ;  then  you  look  round  on 
yourselves,  and  on  your  children,  and  your  hearts  sink  in  you  because  you  are 
shut  out  from  all  these,  and  are  no  people.  You  feel  no  emulation  ;  you  give  up, 
and  say,  what's  the  use  of  it  ?  An  impassable  mountain  is  between  our  people,  and 
the  honors  and  profits  which  the  whites  enjoy  ;  they  flourish  and  prosper,  but  we 
fade  away,  and  decay,  and  die,  like  our  fathers  ! 

Brothers :  THERE  is  A  CAUSE  FOR  THIS. 

Now  listen,  and  I  will  tell  you  what  that  cause  is — Open  wide  your  ears,  and  I 
will  tell  you  how  to  break  down  that  mountain,  and  then  you  will  see  the  path 
with  light  shining  upon  it,  for  you  and  your  children  to  walk  in. 

Brothers :  When  you  were  asked  by  the  commissioners  to  exchange  your  coun- 
try, that  was  your  time :  then  you  had  an  opportunity  of  making  yourselves  a  great 


APPENDIX.  327 

people,  and  in  all  respects  like  the  whites.  That  was  your  time  to  have  put  your 
feet  on  strong  ground  that  never  would  have  slipped  from  under  them  more. 

Brothers :  Our  country,  you  might  have  said,  is  good  enough  for  us.  We  are 
contented,  so  far  as  that  is  concerned  ;  but  as  you  want  it,  you  may  have  it,  if  you 
will  agree  to  our  terms.  You  ought  to  have  told  them,  like  all  other  people,  we 
wish  to  better  our  condition.  Show  us  how  we  are  to  do  this,  make  it  plain  to  us, 
prove  it,  and  we  will  exchange.  You  might  have  asked  if  the  country  they  offer- 
ed you,  is  healthy  ?  if  it  is  rich  ?  if  the  water  is  plenty  and  good  ?  and  if  it  is  well 
wooded  ?  If  it  is,  point  it  out  to  us,  and  we  will  go  directly  and  examine  it ;  and 
then,  you  might  have  said,  if  we  like  it  we  will  exchange,  provided  you  will  agree 
to  make  us  a  people,  by  your  first  marking  it  out  to  us,  acre  for  acre,  for  ours,  and 
then  dividing  it  into  counties  :  leaving  a  good  piece  in  the  centre  for  a  seat  of 
government ;  and  provided  you  give  us  parchment  for  our  farms,  that  we  may 
choose  within  that  country ;  you  driving  everybody  from  it,  and  provided  you  gua- 
rantee it  to  us  forever,  with  the  right  to  sell  to  our  brothers,  *  by  permission  of 
our  great  father,  the  President  of  the  United  States  ;  and  provided  you  put  us  up 
there  houses,  and  mills,  and  fences,  and  work-shops,  as  good  as  we  have  got  here  ; 
and  provided  you  will  give  us  stock  there  as  we  have  it  here  ;  and  provided  you 
establish  schools  in  all  the  counties,  sufficient  for  the  education  of  our  children, 
and  to  teach  our  girls  how  to  spin,  and  manage  household  affairs  ;  and  provided 
you  send  a  force  there  to  protect  us  from  danger ;  and  organize  our  people  into 
companies  like  your  militia,  to  be  commissioned  by  our  great  father,  the  President 
of  the  United  States  ;  and  then  establish  a  government  over  us,  suited  to  our  con- 
dition, with  plain  good  laws,  like  one  of  your  territories — and  then  give  our  peo- 
ple the  right  of  suffrage,  as  they  may  be  prepared  by  education  to  vote  and  take 
part  in  the  government ;  and  then  allow  us,  after  the  territory  is  organized,  to  send 
a  delegate  to  Congress,  like  your  territories  ;  and  give  us  here  a  few  reservations 
for  people  who  may  want  them  ;  and  then  we  will  exchange,  if,  after  we  look  at 
the  country,  and  examine  it  well,  we  like  it — you  paying  the  expense  of  our  going 
to  see  it,  and  when  we  go,  of  our  removal  to  it.  Make  us  in  this  way,  you  might 
have  said,  a  people,  and  part  of  yourselves — give  us  and  our  children  the  hope  of 
rising  above  the  sorrows  and  sufferings,  and  degradation  of  the  past — secure  to  us 
our  privileges  as  members  of  the  great  family  of  man — and  then  we  will  go. 

Brothers :  An  answer  like  that,  would  have  been  the  proper  answer.  You  see 
in  it  the  ground-work  of  your  future  greatness  as  a  people.  You  see  it  includes 
everything. 

Brothers :  Tt  is  this  I  have  been  aiming  at  for  you.  This  is  your  path,  and  the 
light  of  reason,  of  justice,  and  of  Heaven,  shines  upon  it. 

Brothers :  I  will  suppose  the  commissioners  had  rejected  such  terms — what 
then  ?  why,  you  would  have  convinced  the  world  that  you  are  not  a  self-willed  and 
obstinate  people.  You  would  have  made  your  friends  strong,  because  you  would 
have  asked  nothing  but  what  is  just,  and  in  doing  so,  you  would  have  broken  the 
power  of  your  enemies. 

Brothers :  I  now  put  my  finger  on  a  country  f — will  you  not  go  and  look  at  it  ? 
Should  it  turn  out  to  be  sickly,  or  poor,  or  not  be  sufficiently  watered,  and  not  well 

*  Meaning  Indians. 

t  The  map  was  open,  and  before  me. 


328  APPENDIX. 

wooded — and  should  you  be  able  to  find  no  good  country,  why,  then,  who  could  ask 
you  to  leave  your  own  ?  No  good  man  would  wish  to  impose  it  upon  you  to  go  to 
a  country  that  you  could  not  live  in — and  then,  should  that  be  the  case,  that  there 
is  no  suitable  country,  why  the  next  step  would  be  to  improve  you  all  here  as  fast 
as  possible,  that  the  distinction  which  exists  now,  might  exist  no  longer — for  you 
know,  as  many  of  you  can  read,  that  one  great  reason  urged  against  your  improve- 
ment, is,  that  if  you  are  improved,  you  will  be  less  likely  to  part  from  your  lands. 

Brothers :  Am  I  understood  ?  Do  you  feel  the  force  of  my  remarks  ?  Have  I 
opened  the  way  for  your  eyes  to  see  your  future  greatness  ?  It  is  not  yet  too  late. 
But  perhaps  you  doubt  whether  anything  so  good  could  be  granted  ?  That  is  pre- 
cisely what  I  want  you  to  authorize  me  to  try.  I  wish  to  carry  home  such  an  an- 
swer, as  I  have  told  you  ought  to  have  been  given  to  the  commissioners,  to  your 
great  father.  Let  your  terms  be  stated — say  how  you  will  treat  for  your  lands — 
and  thus  decide  the  question. 

Brothers :  Say  to  me,  for  the  sake  of  your  children,  and  children's  children,  that 
you  will  go  quick  and  look  at  the  country — fix  the  day,  and  let  it  be  the  first  of 
next  May.  Now,  let  me  tell  you,  is  your  time.  The  time  for  such  terms  never 
came  before,  and  it  may  never  come  again.  Take  hold  of  it,  then — and  if  you  think 
I  know  anything,  and  am  your  friend,  put  such  a  paper  in  my  hands  to  take  home 
with  me.  It  may  secure  your  future  happiness,  which  is  what  I  want,  and  your 
children's  prosperity  forever — and  this  will  serve  to  make  amends,  in  some  way,  for 
the  sufferings  of  the  past. 

Brothers :  If  you  do  not,  I  shall  still  fear — for  the  storm  about  Indian's  lands  is 
terrible  indeed  !  I  wish  to  screen  you  from  it. 

Brothers :    I  have  done — I  pray  the  Great  Spirit  to  direct  you. 

Answer  of  the  Chickasaw  Chiefs  to  Colonel  McKenney's  talk. 

COUNCIL-ROOM,  CHICKASAW  NATION, 
October  9,  1827. 

Brother :  We  have  opened  our  ears  wide  to  your  talk ;  we  have  not  lost  a  word 
of  it.  We  came  together  to  meet  you,  as  an  old  friend,  and  to  shake  hands  with 
you.  We  were  happy,  and  our  hearts  grew  big,  when  we  heard  you  had  come  to 
our  country.  We  have  always  thought  of  you  as  our  friend ;  we  have  confidence 
in  you ;  we  have  listened  more  close,  because  we  think  so  much  of  you ;  we 
know  well  you  would  not  deceive  us,  and  we  believe  you  know  what  is  best  for 
us,  and  for  our  children. 

Brother :  Do  not  you  forsake  us.  Our  friends,  as  you  told  us,  are  few,  we  have 
none  to  spare ;  we  know  that. 

Brother :  You  think  it  will  be  better  for  us  to  take  your  advice.  It  has  truly 
made  deep  impressions  on  our  hearts.  Without  making  a  long  talk,  as  you  are 
to  leave  us  in  the  morning,  we  will  state  our  terms  for  an  exchange  of  country. 
We  have  no  objection  to  our  country ;  if  we  could  be  let  alone,  we  might  do  well ; 
but  we  are  great  sufferers ;  everything  seems  against  us,  and  we  will  agree  to  al- 
most anything  that  can  make  our  condition  better.  We  believe,  if  the  government 
of  the  United  States  is  honest  towards  us,  and  wish  us  to  be  a  people,  and  not 
outcasts  always,  that  we  may  yet  do  better.  We  will  now  tell  you  what  we  will  do. 

Brother :  You  would  not  wish  us  to  move  away,  and  into  a  country  where  we 
could  not  live,  and  as  well  as  we  live  here.  Then,  as  you  have  pointed  us  out  a 


APPENDIX.  329 

country,  on  the  north  of  the  State  of  Missouri,  and  between  the  Missouri  and 
Mississippi  river,  and  speak  well  of  it,  we  agree,  first  and  foremost,  to  go  and  look 
at  it,  and  any  other  country  that  we  may  choose ;  when  twelve  of  our  people, 
three  from  each  district,  have  examined  it,  assisted  by  a  scientific  doctor,  to  see  to 
our  health ;  and  by  three  good  white  men,  to  be  selected  by  ourselves,  and  three 
of  your  men  of  science,  from  Washington  or  elsewhere ;  we  say,  when  we  have 
examined  it,  if  we  like  it,  if  its  soil  is  good,  and  well  wooded ;  if  water  is  plenty 
and  good,  we  will  agree  to  exchange  acre  for  acre,  provided  you,  on  your  part, 
will  mark  out  the  country,  and  divide  it  into  counties,  and  leave  a  place  in  the 
.centre  for  a  seat  of  government ;  and  then  drive  everybody  off  it,  and  guarantee 
it  to  us  forever ;  and  as  soon  as  may  be,  divide  it  for  us  into  farms,  and  give  us  a 
parchment  for  them  to  be  recorded,  with  a  right  to  sell  to  our  brothers,  with  the 
consent  of  our  father,  the  President  of  the  United  States.  And  provided,  also, 
that  in  addition,  you  examine  our  houses,  and  mills,  and  fences,  and  our  work- 
shops here ;  also,  our  orchards,  and  build,  and  put  up,  and  plant  as  good  there,  at 
such  places,  within  the  territory,  as  we  may  choose.  Also,  provided  you  count 
our  stocks  here,  and  put  an  equal  number,  of  each  kind,  within  their  respective 
owners'  limits  there.  Also,  provided  you  establish  schools  in  all  the  counties, 
sufficient  for  the  education  of  our  children,  and  to  teach  our  girls  how  to  spin  and 
manage  household  affairs ;  and  provided,  also,  you  send  a  sufficient  force  there  to 
insure  our  protection,  and  organize  our  people  into  companies,  like  your  militia, 
to  be  commissioned  by  our  father,  the  President  of  the  United  States  ;  and  provi- 
ded that  you  establish  a  government  over  us,  in  all  respects  like  one  of  your 
territories,  (Michigan,  for  example,)  and  give  the  right  of  suffrage  to  our  people, 
as  they  shall  be  prepared  by  education  to  vote  and  act;  and  allow  us,  after  the 
territory  is  organized,  a  delegate,  like  your  territories  enjoy,  in  Congress ;  and 
provided  there  be  allowed,  to  some  of  our  people,  reservations,  not  exceeding 
twenty,  to  be  surveyed,  and  given  to  them  on  parchment,  to  sell,  if  they  please, 
like  the  white  man. 

Brother :  Grant  us  these  terms ;  better  our  condition  as  a  people ;  give  us  the 
privileges  of  men  ;  and  if  the  country  you  point  us  to,  or  any  other  we  may  find, 
turns  out  to  be  acceptable  to  us,  we  will  treat  for  exchange  upon  the  above  basis. 
We  ask,  also,  for  a  millwright,  and  three  blacksmiths  ;  they  will  Jbe  needed  by  us. 

Brother :  We  are  willing  to  go  next  May,  in  steamboats,  from  Memphis  to  St. 
Louis,  and  thence  over  the  line,  and  examine  the  country  thoroughly  ;  and,  on  the 
following  spring,  then  we  shall  know  all  the  seasons,  and  how  the  climate  is. 
Should  you  think  proper  to  take  us  at  our  offer,  provide  the  means,  and  let  us 
know  the  time,  (say  by  the  first  of  April  next ;)  the  cost  is  to  be  yours,  and  every- 
thing ;  and  each  of  our  people,  who  may  go,  must  have  a  fine  rifle,  and  horn,  and 
powder,  and  lead,  and  plenty  of  things  for  an  outfit,  in  provisions,  and  tobacco,  and 
blankets,  and  the  like. 

Brother  :  Should  our  offer  not  be  accepted,  then  we  are  done.  We  hope  to  be 
let  alone  where  we  are,  and  that  your  people  will  be  made  to  treat  us  like  men  and 
Christians,  and  not  like  dogs.  We  tell  you  now,  we  want  to  make  our  children 
men  and  women,  and  to  raise  them  high  as  yours,  in  privileges :  we  will  have  in- 
ducements then  to  do  so ;  now  we  have  not. 

Brother :  Understand,  nothing  is  done,  unless  the  country  we  go  to  look  at  suits ; 
and  not  then,  unless  all  we  require  is  agreed  to  on  your  part. 
VOL.  i.  42 


330  APPENDIX. 

Brother :  We  shall  shake  hands  with  you,  and  our  hearts  go  with  you. 

TISH-A  MINGO,  his  +  mark. 
WILLIAM  M'GILVERY,  his  +  mark. 
LEVI  COLBERT,  his  +  mark. 

Committee  of  the  Nation. 
STIMO-LUCT,  his  -f  mark. 
PUS-TA-LA-TUBBEE,  his  +  mark. 
MA-TAASH-TO,  his  -f  mark. 
Witness : 

PITMAN  COLBERT,  Secretary. 
To  Col.  THOMAS  L.  MCKENNEY. 

Col.  McKenney's  reply  to  the  Chickasaw  Chiefs. 

COUNCIL-ROOM,  CHICKASAW  NATION,         > 
October  9th,  1827.  $ 

FRIENDS  AND  BROTHERS  : — I  have  received,  and  read  your  answer  to  my  talk  to 
you  of  this  morning.  Having  no  power  to  conclude  an  agreement  with  you,  I 
have  to  state  in  answer,  that  I  will  lose  no  time  in  laying  before  your  father,  the 
President  of  the  United  States,  the  terms  on  which  you  propose  a  compliance  with 
his  wish  to  see  you  a  happy  people  on  lands  west  of  the  Mississippi.  So  soon  as 
he  makes  your  views  known  to  his  great  council,  he  will  direct  an  answer  to  be 
made  to  you. 

In  return  for  the  confidence  you  have  expressed  in  me,  and  for  the  promise  that 
your  hearts  will  go  with  me,  I  have  to  assure  you  that  your  confidence  is  not  mis- 
placed. In  me  you  have  always  had  a  friend,  and  I  hope  always  to  remain  so.  I 
will  never  advise  you  but  for  your  good. 

I  will  bear  in  mind  that  the  hearts  of  the  Chickasaw  chiefs  go  with  me  :  and 
this  will  make  my  journey  home  the  more  agreeable ;  for  the  hearts  that  go  with 
me  are  the  same  that  have  stood  by  my  country  in  the  hour  of  danger,  and  often 
fearlessly  entered  the  battle-field  in  defence  of  American  rights  and  liberty.  It  is 
not  possible  but  that  I  should  wish  you  and  your  posterity  every  possible  prosperi- 
ty and  happiness. 

I  shake  hands  with  you,  and  pray  the  Great  Spirit  to  preserve  and  bless  you. 

Your  friend  and  brother, 
[Signed]  THOMAS  L.  McKENNEY. 

To  TISH-A  MINGO,  LEVI  COLBERT,  and  other  Chiefs  of  the  Chickasaw  Nation. 


(F.) 

DEPARTMENT  OF  WAR, 
Office  of  Indian  Affairs,  May  1,  1829. 
DEAR  SIR — Whatever  relates  to  our  Indians  will,  I  know,  be  interesting  to 
you.    Indeed,  the  subject  is  one  which  takes  hold  not  only  of  your  feelings  and 
the  feelings  of  your  Board,  but  of  other  associations  similarly  organized,  and  also 
of  the  feelings  of  the  good  citizens  of  our  republic,  generally.     All  unite  in  the 
wish  to  see  those  people  rescued,  and  elevated  into  a  participation  of  the  blessings 
of  the  civilized  and  Christian  state.    The  question  is,  how  can  this  be  best  ac- 
complished?   Now,  we  know,  men  often  agree  in  regard  to  various  matters 


APPENDIX.  331 

as  to  the  end,  but  often  differ  as  to  the  means  for  its  accomplishment.  This  is 
precisely  the  case  with  this  Indian  subject.  All  desire  to  save  the  remnants  of 
this  once  mighty  race,  but  the  means  have  not,  I  humbly  conceive,  been  as  yet 
exactly  hit  upon — at  least  they  have  not  been  carried  out  fully.  If  I  am  not  mis- 
taken, I  will  be  able,  in  the  course  of  this  letter,  to  lay  bare  to  you  the  cause,  to 
a  great  extent,  of  the  present  degraded  state  of  this  people.  To  make  mani- 
fest the  evil,  will  make  manifest  also  the  remedy.  I  do  not  mean  to  be  general  in 
my  remarks,  but  apply  them  chiefly  to  one  great  point — and  that  relates  to  their 
landed  possessions  within  our  States  and  organized  Territories  ;  and  the  neces- 
sary, but  fatal  connection  of  the  Indians,  arising  out  of  that  relation. 

For  myself,  I  have  always  viewed  the  subject  of  our  Indian  landed  possessions, 
and  the  relation  which  these  bear  to  our  States  and  Territories,  as  full  of  interest, 
and  pregnant  with  difficulty.  All  that  I  have  felt  of  hope  for  the  preservation 
and  improvement  of  our  Indians,  has  been  clouded  with  fear,  that  the  time  would 
arrive,  when,  between  them  and  the  States,  and  the  General  Government,  the 
issue  would  have  at  last  to  be  tried.  It  cannot  have  escaped  the  observation  of 
those  who  have  paid  attention  to  this  subject,  that  the  right  of  the  Indians  to  the 
lands  held  by  them,  is  but  a  possessory  right ;  and  that  whatever  guarantees  may 
exist,  as  they  do  in  our  treaties,  these  cover  no  more  than  a  right  of  this  sort.  It 
could  not  have  been  otherwise.  To  interpret  these  guarantees  by  any  other  rule, 
would  be  to  decide  that  sovereignty  should  be  set  up  against  sovereignty — the  so- 
vereignty of  the  Indians  against  the  sovereignty  of  the  States.  It  never  was 
so  meant.  Whenever,  then,  with  a  view  to  the  cultivation  of  their  local  re- 
sources, or  for  an  extension  of  power,  the  States  should  feel  their  Indian  po- 
pulation to  be  burdensome,  it  was  most  clear  that  this  feeling  would,  in  some 
way,  manifest  itself.  At  first,  it  was  natural  to  suppose  it  would  be  disclosed  in 
acts  of  the  legislatures,  extending  over  the  Indians,  as  one  attribute  of  sovereignty, 
their  respective  laws.  This,  in  two  of  the  States,  Georgia  and  Alabama,  has 
been  actually  done.  The  laws  of  the  latter  are  now  in  full  operation  ;  those  of 
the  former  are  prospectively  enacted,  and  are  to  take  effect  in  1830.  In  this 
state  of  things,  it  was  natural  to  suppose  the  Indians  would  look,  under  their  mis- 
taken conception  of  the  nature  of  the  guarantee,  spoken  of  in  treaties  with  them,  for 
protection,  from  the  operation  of  those  laws,  to  the  Federal  Government ;  nor 
was  it  less  natural  that  they  should  be,  whensoever  the  question  should  be  raised, 
undeceived  in  regard  to  this  matter — since  it  could  never  have  been  contemplated 
that  the  General  Government  would  bare  its  arm,  and  go  forth  with  an  array  of 
power  to  contend  against  the  exercise  of  any  one  attribute  of  sovereignty  of 
any  one  of  the  States.  The  States  having  made  no  grant,  expressed  or  implied, 
to  the  Federal  Union  of  the  kind,  it  was  not  to  be  expected  that  the  General 
Government  would  assume  the  power. 

I  have  never  before,  I  believe,  attempted  to  place  this  subject  before  you  in 
this  light,  but  looking  more  to  the  issue  of  the  question,  I  have,  from  time  to 
time,  urged  upon  you,  and  the  friends  of  Indian  improvement,  generally,  the 
importance  of  so  enlightening  the  Indians  as  to  show  them  clearly  the  very  de- 
licate, nay,  hazardous,  relation  in  which  they  stand  to  the  States,  within  whose 
bosom  they  are.  I  never  doubted,  nor  do  I  now  doubt,  that  if  they  were  made  to 
see  the  peril  of  this  relation,  they  would  seek  to  establish  a  better  one  upon  a  dif- 
ferent basis  than  that  which  secures  their  lands  to  them,  as  possessory  tenants, 


332  APPENDIX. 

only ;  and  this  would  lead  them  west  of  our  States  and  Territories,  where  every 
sort  of  guarantee  could,  and  I  doubt  not  would,  be  given  to  them  ;  and  every 
protection  and  blessing  within  the  power  of  the  General  Government  to  confer, 
extended  to  their  race.  Upon  such  a  basis,  only,  can  they  expect  to  be  preserved, 
and  improve  themselves,  or  be  improved  by  others.  Need  I  stop  to  demonstrate 
how  utterly  impracticable  it  is  to  remodel  the  Indian  character,  and  fashion 
it  after  the  civilized  form,  situated  as  are  those  tribes  who  are  within  our 
States  ?  Where  is  the  example  of  a  single  transformation  in  a  tribe  of  this 
sort  ?  I  know  of  not  one.  But  I  know  of  many  in  which,  even  amidst  efforts  the 
most  untiring,  the  Indians  have  (although  individuals  have  profited)  disappeared, 
until  now  many  of  our  States,  that  once  swarmed  with  an  Indian  population,  con- 
tain not  a  vestige  of  one  !  Whence  comes  this  decay,  and  final  disappearing  of 
the  red  before  the  white  man  ?  It  comes  not  of  the  color,  nor  of  physical  or 
moral  malformation ;  nor  of  destiny — but  from  causes  the  most  natural,  which  a 
change  in  our  relations  to  each  other  would  work,  even  upon  us.  The  elements 
may  all  be  found  to  lie  in  the  intellectual,  moral,  political  and  social  relations  which 
exist  between  them  and  us.  It  would  require  a  volume  to  descant  upon  these.  I 
will  merely  touch  each,  and  pass  on. 

Who  does  not  see  the  effect  of  intellectual  superiority,  even  among  our  own 
citizens  ?  And  where  we  see  one  absolutely  superior,  and  another  absolutely 
inferior,  does  not  the  consciousness  of  that  inferiority,  in  the  person  feeling  it, 
depress  his  energies,  and  paralyze  his  efforts  ?  Do  we  not  see  this  daily  ? 
Now,  why  should  a  different  result  of  the  same  cause  be  looked  for  in  the  In- 
dian ?  But  the  relations  between  the  white  man  and  the  Indian  stop  not  here. 
The  latter  finds  himself  always  the  victim  of  that  intellectual  superiority,  and 
feels  that  he  must  always  remain  so.  Bereaved  in  the  past,  by  superior 
tact,  he  feels  that  he  is  no  less  so  in  the  present ;  and  what  he  sees  of  the 
future  is  even  more  hopeless  still.  The  existence  of  this  relation  alone,  did  it 
stop  here,  would,  in  time,  work  his  overthrow — but  there  are  others.  The 
moral  energies  which  will  sustain,  to  a  degree,  even  conscious  inferiority,  are  not 
felt  by  the  Indian.  To  these,  he  is  almost  a  stranger.  And  where  does  he  de- 
rive anything  but  depression  and  despair,  when  he  sees  the  political  distinctions 
enjoyed  by  the  white  man  by  his  side  ;  the  high  honors  to  which  he  is  elevated ; 
the  privileges  which  these  confer,  and  the  freedom  they  entail  ?  Is  there  any- 
thing in  this  view  calculated  to  inspire  him  with  the  spirit  of  emulation  ? — to 
rouse  him  to  action,  and  to  the  performance  of  deeds  of  virtue,  or  of  renown  ? 
Far  from  it.  If  he  be  human — and  that  he  is,  none  will  deny — what  must  he  feel 
when  even  his  oath  is  not  deemed  worthy  to  be  taken  ?  Can  a  human  heart  beat 
free  when  oppressed  by  such  degradation  ?  Must  it  not  sink  into  despair  ? 
And  what  then  ?  We  all  know.  But  the  Indian  has  to  endure  one  more  thought. 
It  is  the  total  impracticability  of  his  ever  participating  in  those  refinements  of  the 
social  state,  which  are  the  necessary  result  of  the  white  man's  superiority  over 
him,  in  intellectual,  moral,  and  political  advantages.  If  there  had  been  any 
light  left  to  shine,  although  but  dimly,  on  his  prospects,  this  would  obscure  it,  and 
shroud  his  prospect  in  the  deepest  gloom.  Well,  then,  this  is  the  relation  in 
which  the  red  man  stands  to  his  more  cultivated  white  brother. 

This,  however,  is  but  one  side  of  the  question.  There  is  another  :  the 
action  of  the  white  man  upon  him.  The  first  is  the  worm  within,  eating  out  his 


APPENDIX.  333 

vitals — the  last  the  storm  that  crushes  the  shell  which  the  worm  may  not 
have  devoured.  This  comes  of  the  same  elements.  The  Indian  is  seen  to  be 
degraded ;  and  unfortunately  for  man,  it  is  too  true,  there  is  the  disposition  in  his 
nature  to  exercise  upon  such,  cruelty,  injustice  and  revenge.  Will  any  one  sup- 
pose it  possible  that  thus  situated,  the  Indians  can  exist  ?  much  less,  rise  into 
that  high  state,  as  to  take  station  alongside  of  our  citizens  ?  If  they  could, 
then  would  they  demonstrate  themselves  to  be  more  than  human. 

I  assume  it,  then,  that  the  Indians  cannot  be  saved  and  elevated  in  their  condi- 
tion, without  a  change  in  existing  relations.  But  to  return. 

I  did  certainly  look  to  the  period  when  the  issue  between  the  States  and  their 
Indian  population  would  be  tried.  I  have  for  some  time  past  seen  the  elements 
forming,  out  of  which  the  question  would  arise.  I  supposed  it  highly  probable  the 
next  Congress  would  be  applied  to ;  and  that  it  would  have  been  then  decided. 
The  Cherokees,  I  supposed,  would  bring  it  up.  They  have  presented  it.  It  has 
been  accelerated  by  the  very  efforts  of  some  of  their  best  informed,  to  improve  their 
own  condition,  and  that  of  their  people,  in  the  constitution  and  laws  they  have  fra- 
med and  adopted.  Sovereignty  was  here  sought  after,  and  the  States,  it  was  to  be 
expected,  would  meet  the  attempt  at  its  exercise.  Hence  the  State  of  Georgia  ex- 
tends her  laws  over  them,  as  an  intimation  of  where  the  sovereign  power  does  lie. 
"  If,"  as  Georgia  no  doubt  reasoned, "  these  people  are  competent  to  self-government, 
they  can  receive  and  act  under  our  own  laws."  The  Indians,  alarmed  at  this  act 
of  Georgia,  have  appealed  to  the  President  of  the  United  States,  to  interfere  and 
save  them  from  the  consequence  of  the  operation  of  those  laws.  The  appeal  has 
been  promptly  met,  and  the  matter  decided.  The  Secretary  of  War,  in  the  name 
of  the  President,  tells  them  what  they  wish  cannot  be  done — the  government  of 
the  United  States  will  not  resist  Georgia  in  this  exercise  of  her  sovereignty.  The 
die,  therefore,  is  cast ! 

The  grounds  on  which  the  question  is  met  by  the  Secretary,  are  the  fol- 
lowing : —  .  • 

1st.  These  people,  the  Cherokees,  were  arrayed  against  us,  and  in  league  with 
Great  Britain,  in  the  war  of  the  Revolution. 

2d.  With  the  fall  of  the  British  power,  fell  their  power ;  and  with  the  extin- 
guishment of  the  British  rights,  was  extinguished  their  rights. 

3d.  By  the  treaty  of  peace  with  Great  Britain,  sovereignty  was  acknowledged 
to  be  in  the  United  States,  over  all  the  territory  over  which  the  British  crown  had 
previously  exercised  it ;  no  reservation  is  made  in  favor  of  those  Indians,  vesting 
in  them  any  attribute  to  sovereignty  ; — but 

4th.  The  United  States  gave  peace,  three  years  after  the  pacification  with 
Great  Britain,  to  the  Cherokees,  and  took  them  under  the  protection  of  the  Union, 
and  into  favor.  Limits  were  allotted  to  them,  within  which,  (as  possessory  occu- 
pants,*) they  were  permitted  to  live  and  hunt,  and  a  guarantee  given. 

5th.  Subsequently  to  the  pacification,  and  between  1785  and  1791,  those  same 
Indians  waged  war  upon  our  border  population.  This  was  a  treaty  of  peace  and 
of  limits  ;  and  in  this  treaty  the  Cherokees  were  again  taken  under  the  protection 
of  the  Government  of  the  Union,  and  their  limits  guarantied  to  them,  as  posses- 
sory occupants,  however,  and  of  course,  for  the  reasons  which  I  have  hastily 
glanced  at. 

6th.  Those  limits,  embracing  in  part  certain  portions  of  the  jurisdictional  limits 


334  APPENDIX. 

of  Georgia,  it  became  necessary  for  an  understanding  to  be  had  between  the  Uni- 
ted States  and  Georgia,  on  the  subject,  which  resulted  in  a  compact,  (in  1802,)  in 
which  the  United  States  pledged  to  possess  Georgia  of  her  territory,  as  soon  as  it 
could  be  done  upon  peaceable  and  reasonable  terms.  Thus  it  appears  that  so  far 
back  as  1802,  it  was  fixed  (as  the  compact  fully  implies,)  that  not  the  Indians,  but 
Georgia,  held  the  right  of  sovereignty  ;  and  the  Indians  retained  the  soil,  only  as 
possessory  occupants. 

Under  those  several  heads  the  Secretary  of  War  has,  with  great  force  and 
clearness,  and  in  a  spirit  of  frankness,  surpassed  only  by  its  kindness,  demonstrated 
the  true  state  of  the  question.  He  tells  the  Cherokees  that  whilst  the  General 
Government  can  never  oppose  Georgia  in  the  exercise  of  her  right  of  sovereignty, 
it  will  protect  them  in  the  full  enjoyment  of  all  their  possessory  rights. 

He  then  presents  to  them  two  alternatives — one  is,  to  come  under  the  laws  of 
the  State,  the  other  to  emigrate  ;  and  advises  them  to  adopt  the  latter.  He  then 
adverts  to  the  power  of  the  General  Government,  to  establish  them  upon  a  different 
basis,  on  the  lands  west  of  our  States  and  Territories,  west  of  the  Mississippi ;  and 
expresses  a  readiness  on  the  part  of  the  General  Government  to  protect  them  there, 
and  invest  them  with  such  rights  and  privileges  as  will  preserve  and  elevate  them  as 
a  people. 

Now  this  is  precisely  the  end  at  which  every  friend  to  the  Indians  should  aim. 
It  is  worse  than  useless  to  take  other  ground.  It  is  unkind,  nay,  unmerciful  to 
the  Indians,  to  do  it.  That  they  cannot  exist  in  their  present  relations  to  us,  I 
think  has  been  shown ;  to  flatter  them  with  the  belief  to  the  contrary,  would  be 
fatal.  The  past  proves  it,  and  the  present  teems  with  admonition.  Nothing 
could  be  more  kind  to  these  people,  than  the  frank  and  firm  answer  which  has 
been  given  to  them.  It  requires,  however,  to  make  it  effectual,  that  the  bodies  of 
citizens  who  have  associated  to  meliorate  and  reform  the  condition  of  these  peo- 
ple, as  also  all  who  really  wish  well  to  them,  should  heartily  co-operate  in  con- 
vincing them  of  the  destroying  effects  of  their  existing  relations,  and  of  their  ne- 
cessary, and  final,  and  fatal  issue,  and  of  the  vast  benefits  which  would  flow  to 
them  from  a  change. 

I  glanced  rapidly,  in  a  previous  part  of  this  letter,  at  the  elements  of  those 
causes  which  are  working  the  destruction  of  those  Indians  who  reside  within  our 
States  and  organized  Territories.  You  may,  perhaps,  expect  me  to  say  something 
upon  the  subject  of  those  preserving  influences,  which  would  operate  to  save 
them,  were  they  to  withdraw  from  within  their  present  limits  ;  and  also  of  a  plan 
of  operations  for  their  advancement,  and  reformation,  and  prosperity  as  a  people. 

Three  of  the  four  southern  tribes  who  are  more  immediately  concerned  in  this 
question,  to  wit :  the  Choctaws,  Cherokees,  and  Creeks,  have  now,  west  and 
north  of  Arkansas,  and  west  ot  Missouri,  a  country  which,  on  recent  examination, 
is  represented  to  be  in  soil,  climate  and  salubrity,  unexceptionable.  The  Chicka- 
saws  and  the  Choctaws,  being  neighbors  in  their  present  possessions,  and  the 
Chickasaws  numbering  only  about  four  thousand  souls,  would,  there  is  no  doubt 
of  it,  be  received  gladly  by  their  Choctaw  brothers  ;  and  the  Government  would 
doubtless  compensate  the  latter  for  this  accommodation.  The  Creeks  have  already 
expressed  their  willingness  to  receive  the  Seminoles  of  Florida.  Here,  then,  is  a 
home  for  all  those  southern  Indians,  unexceptionable  in  all  respects,  and  even  de- 
sirable. 


APPENDIX.  335 

In  the  occupancy  of  this  country,  those  Indians  would  be  at  once  relieved  from 
the  direct  action  of  those  elements,  which,  as  I  have  shown,  beat  so  destructively 
upon  them  in  the  States.  This  negative  result  would  prepare  them  at  once  for 
an  action  of  another  sort,  and  what  this  ought  to  be,  I  will  now  briefly  state. 

They  should  hold  those  possessions  in  the  west  by  a  tenure  as  durable  as  time ; 
and  the  guarantee  of  the  Union  ought  so  to  secure  them  in  such  right.  Their 
lands  should  be  divided  and  parcelled  out  among  all  the  families.  The  frame- 
work, at  least,  of  a  government,  ought  to  be  immediately  placed  over  them,  for  their 
protection  and  improvement.  In  the  administration  of  this  government  they 
should  participate.  Their  relation  to  the  Union  should  be  that  of  one  of  our  Ter- 
ritories ;  and  the  entire  scheme  should  look  to  their  elevation  to  the  enjoyment  of 
all  the  privileges  of  American  citizens,  civil,  political,  and  religious.  They  should 
be  assisted  in  their  agriculture,  and  encouraged  to  cultivate  the  ground.  Schools 
should  be  distributed  over  all  their  country.  The  children  should  be  taken  into 
these,  and  instructed,  in  addition  to  the  usual  branches,  reading,  writing  and 
arithmetic,  in  mechanics  and  the  arts  ;  and  the  girls  in  all  the  business  of  the  do- 
mestic duties.  They  should  have  the  Gospel ;  and  be  enlightened  as  they  could 
bear  its  rays  at  this  great  source  of  light  and  blessedness.  In  a  word,  the  work 
of  their  preservation  and  improvement,  and  happiness,  ought  to  be  undertaken  in 
earnest,  persevered  in  with  diligence,  and  followed  out  in  all  those  departments 
which  govern  us  in  our  rights,  and  privileges,  and  advancements. 

For  their  property  here,  they  should  be  justly  paid  ; — but  in  money  to  those  only 
who  would  husband  it  to  improve  their  western  homes.  Others  less  enlightened, 
and  less  provident,  should  have  it  applied  for  them  in  building  their  houses,  fenc- 
ing their  fields,  buying  them  cattle,  hogs,  poultry,  &c.,  &c.,  implements  of  hus- 
bandry, and  articles  for  domestic  use. 

Now  can  any  one  doubt,  who  knows  the  present  unhappy  and  depressed  condi- 
tion of  our  Indians,  that  this  removal,  and  this  system,  would  not  lift  them  in  a 
single  generation  to  a  level  with  ourselves  ?  But  suppose  any  should  doubt  the 
happy  issue  of  such  experiment  ?  To  such,  I  would  put  the  questions  :  Does 
not  the  present  wretched  condition  of  these  people  demand  the  adoption  of  some 
effort  to  save  them  ?  And  if  something  is  not  attempted,  is  it  not  plain  that  while 
we  are  reasoning  in  the  forum,  the  enemy,  having  scaled  the  walls,  is  within  the 
city,  devastating  and  whelming  it  in  ruins  ?  My  own  opinion  is,  and  I  speak 
from  a  personal  knowledge  of  the  condition  of  most  of  our  Indians,  that  the  crisis 
has  arrived  in  which  they  are  to  be  saved  or  lost !  The  call  of  humanity  is  loud 
in  their  behalf.  Justice  also  demands  for  them  a  last  resting-place  for  the  soles 
of  their  feet ;  and  the  Union,  in  dread  of  the  final  and  fatal  issue,  demands  that 
the  stain  of  permitting  these  people  longer  to  suffer,  and  finally  to  perish,  may  be 
not  found  on  its  ermine,  to  be  regretted  and  deplored  by  posterity. 

But  the  questions  may  be  asked,  will  all  this  be  recognized  by  the  Government  ? 
Will  the  Congress  sanction  such  a  provision  ?  and  will  the  Indians  accept  it  ?  To 
the  first  I  answer,  /  have  not  a  doubt  of  it.  To  the  second,  it  is  my  sincere  be- 
lief that  it  will ;  and  to  the  third,  all  that  can  be  done  by  their  friends,  is  to  labor 
to  induce  them  to  do  so.  If  they  shall  persist  in  refusing  to  accept  terms  like  those 
I  have  glanced  at,  and  which,  perhaps,  may  be  made  still  more  inviting,  then  the 
reproach  of  being  idle,  and  letting  the  Aborigines  of  North  America  perish,  will  be 
wiped  off;  and  posterity  will  recur  with  gratification  to  the  honest  efforts  of  their 


336  APPENDIX. 

forefathers  to  arrest  so  great  a  calamity.  All  that  can  be  required  of  any  indivi- 
dual in  a  righteous  cause  is  to  exert  his  best  efforts — if  these  fail,  then  he  is  blame- 
less. So  with  nations  ;  and  although  history  may  often  overlook  the  honest  efforts 
of  individuals,  in  the  cause  of  humanity  and  justice,  her  eye  is  wide  open  to  nation- 
al acts,  and  these  she  will  be  sure  to  record,  and  to  convey  to  posterity.  Our 
country  is  deeply  concerned  in  the  question  of  saving  our  Indians,  or  permitting 
their  destruction.  I  believe  it  has  the  power  to  accomplish  the  one,  and  avert  the 
other.  Dreadful  will  be  the  responsibility  if  it  shall  not  act ! 

If  the  answer  of  the  Secretary  of  War  to  the  Cherokees,  which  conveys  to 
them  the  decision  of  the  President,  shall  awaken  these  people  to  a  sense  of  their 
real  situation,  and  induce  a  wish  in  them  to  change  it,  much  will  have  been  done 
towards  the  accomplishment  of  the  end  which  we  all  have  in  view  :  viz.  the  pre- 
servation, improvement,  and  happiness  of  our  Indians. 

I  am,  dear  Sir, 

With  great  respect  and  regard, 
Your  friend, 
THOMAS  L. 


(G.) 
T.  L.  McKenney  to  the  Secretary  of  War. 

CHOCTAW  AGENCY,  October  17,  1827. 

Sir — I  had  the  honor  of  writing  to  you,  by  the  last  mail,  from  this  place,  that 
I  expected  to  hold  a  council  with  the  Choctaw  chiefs  to-day.  The  arrival  of 
Colonel  Leflore,  at  an  earlier  hour  of  the  afternoon  of  yesterday  than  I  expected, 
enabled  me  to  convene  the  council  a  little  before  sun-down,  which  I  was  the 
more  anxious  to  do,  from  the  peculiar  slow  movements  of  Indians  ;  the  tedious 
process  of  passing  through  the  mouth  of  the  interpreter  what  may  be  to  be 
said ;  and  above  all,  from  my  increasing  anxiety  to  get  home. 

I  was  aware  that  I  should  have  some  obstacles  to  contend  with,  of  a  new  and 
imposing  character,  and  such  as  it  was  doubtful  whether  any  thing  could  move. 
I  knew  that  two  chiefs,  Mushulatubbee  and  Cole,  had  been  displaced  to  make 
way  for  Colonels  Folsom  and  Leflore,  and  on  the  express  grounds  that  they 
were  to  resist  any  and  every  proposition  that  might  be  made  to  the  nation,  for  a 
sale  or  exchange  of  territory.  Then,  again,  I  saw  difficulties  in  the  plan  of  in- 
viting them  to  another  country,  other  than  that  which  they  already  claim  in 
Arkansas ;  and  difficulties,  (on  the  ground  of  the  objections  of  that  territory 
to  Indians  forming  part  of  its  population,)  in  pointing  them  to  their  lands  there  ; 
for  to  do  this  would  destroy  the  harmony  of  the  plan  of  uniting  them  under  one 
head,  in  a  territory,  on  the  plan  as  approved  by  the  Chickasaws.  I  concluded, 
finally,  that  all  things  should  give  way  to  the  proposition  as  made  to  the  Chickasaws, 
hoping  that  their  acceptance  of  it  might  act  as  an  encouragement,  and  produce, 
if  not  a  prompt  acceptance,  at  least  a  willingness  to  break  ground  under  cover  of 
some  pretext,  so  as  to  co-operate,  actually,  in  the  plan  accepted  by  the  Chicka- 
saws, though  by  seeming  to  reject  it.  I  thought  I  saw  this  much,  in  my  first  in- 
terview. It  was  afterwards  confirmed.  The  chiefs  were  bound,  I  discovered, 
to  reject,  openly,  any  proposition  of  the  sort,  or  bring  upon  themselves  the 
charge  of  inconsistency,  and  possibly  the  rebuke,  if  not  chastisement,  of  the  na- 


APPENDIX.  337 

tion.  I,  nevertheless,  resolved  to  try ;  and  I  accordingly  addressed  them,  in  the 
main,  upon  the  same  ground  as  stated  in  the  copy  of  my  talk  to  the  Chicka- 
saws,  adding  some  reasons  derived  from  the  question  of  State  sovereignty  and 
State  rights,  and  of  their  operation  upon  them,  and  in  the  simplest  forms.  It 
made  a  deep  impression.  •  came  to  my  room,  and  conversed  with  me  till 

twelve  o'clock  at  night,  palliating  his  intended  objections  to  the  propositions, 
and  yet  manifestly  approving  them.  He  is  an  intelligent  man,  and  withal  am- 
bitious, though  honorably  so,  and  felt  the  influence  of  the  prospect  which  a  go- 
vernment, and  the  proposed  provisions,  held  out  for  his  people,  as,  indeed, 

did  ,  who  is  also  a  man  of  vigorous  intellect.  But  I  anticipated  the 

answer  which  I  should  receive  from  them  in  council,  and  meanwhile  prepared  to 

elude  its  force.  Indeed,  one  of  the told  me,  in  plain  terms,  it  was  not 

possible  for  the  chiefs  even  to  seem  to  approve  it,  as,  before  another  day,  the 
opposition  (meaning  the  party  who  had  been  unchiefed  by  them,)  would  declare 
they  had  sold  their  country,  which,  if  it  did  not  result  in  shooting  them  by  the 
way-side,  or  cutting  their  throats,  would  lose  them  their  influence,  and  put  it  out 
of  their  power,  after  the  country  should  be  examined  and  approved,  to  lead  their 
people  to  it,  as  proposed.  He  added,  it  would  be  much  easier  to  have  persons  go 
under  any  other  form,  get  their  report,  and  treat  afterwards. 

On  receiving  their  verbal  answer  in  counsel,  (which  I  have  the  honor  herewith 
to  enclose  in  writing,  marked  A,)  I  made  a  reply  pretty  much  in  substance  like 
the  answer  herewith  enclosed,  marked  B,  in  which  I  concluded  by  the  proposi- 
tion to  them  to  send  two  men  from  each  of  their  districts,  (six  persons  in  number,) 
to  accompany  their  elder  brothers,  the  Chickasaws  ;  when  they  might  return  by 
the  way  of  Arkansas,  and  see  their  country  and  their  friends  there.  I  told  them, 
I  made  the  offer  on  the  grounds  that  their  great  father  would  approve  of  it,  and 
purely  to  oblige  them  ;  but  that  I  could  not  promise  anything  until  it  should  be 
sanctioned  at  Washington.  You  will  see  their  answer  on  this  head  in  the  paper 
marked  A. 

I  am  decidedly  of  opinion,  from  all  I  can  gather,  and  I  have  literally  sifted  these 
people,  that  nothing  but  the  recent  change  in  the  chiefs,  or  rather  their  pledges 
to  the  nation,  kept  the  council  from  adopting  openly,  and  fully,  and  cheerfully, 
and  unanimously,  the  proposition  submitted.  This  plan  of  a  government,  and  of 
civil  and  political  privileges,  is  very  agreeable  to  them,  and  they  think  of  it  with 
pleasure ;  yet  each  feels  the  possible  peril  in  which  a  declaration  might  involve  him. 

They  speak  much  of  the  failures  in  the  propositions  of  former  times,  and 
doubt  the  promises  made  to  them.  And,  whilst  upon  this  head,  Leflore  went  so 
far  in  council,  (as  you  may  see  in  the  written  answer  to  me,)  as  to  say,  in  sub- 
stance, that,  "  if  the  guarantees  were  with  me,  from  their  confidence  in  my  friendship 
for  them,  and  had  not  to  pass  into  other  hands,  the  answer  might  have  been  different" 

The  way  I  consider  to  be  fairly  open  ;  it  will  depend  wholly  upon  those  who 
may  go  with  those  Indians  in  search  of  a  country,  whether  what  has  been  thus 
favorably  commenced,  be  carried  to  a  successful  issue,  or  shall  stop  short  of  it. 
Upon  this  part  of  the  subject,  I  will  have  the  honor  to  converse  with  you  at  large 
on  my  return,  and  to  give,  at  large,  in  conversation,  my  reasons  for  the  belief  that 
the  Choctaws,  as  a  people,  are  even  now  willing  to  adopt  the  offer  made  to 
them. 

The  plan  of  opening  the  way,  and  fixing  depots,  with  suitable  inducements  in 
VOL.  i.  43 


338  APPENDIX. 

accommodations  in  the  Indian  territory,  and  comforts  by  the  way,  should  be  at  once 
adopted,  and  be  made  ready  against  the  return  of  those  who  go  to  look  at  the 
country.  There  is  no  difficulty  in  regard  to  the  country.  Of  this  I  will  satisfy  you. 
I  shall  leave  here  in  the  morning,  early,  rain  or  shine,  and  lose  no  time  in  see- 
ing the  other  two  tribes,  if  I  can,  but  certainly  the  Creeks. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  with  great  respect,  &c., 

[Signed]  THOMAS  L.  MCKENNEY. 

Hon.  JAMES  BARBOUR,  Secretary  of  War. 

Answer  of  the  Choctaw  Chiefs  to  Colonel  McKenney. 

CHOCTAW  AGENCY,  October  17^,  1827. 

BELOVED  BROTHER — We  rejoice  to  have  taken  you  by  the  hand,  and  that  the 
Great  Spirit  above  has  given  you  health  and  strength  to  perform  a  long  and  te- 
dious road.  Our  hearts  are  proud — we  have  attentively  listened  to  your  talk ; 
and,  after  much  thinking  and  consultation,  we  are  sorry  we  cannot  agree  to  your 
proposition  of  yesterday.  It  was  the  talk  of  a  friend.  We  are  thankful  for  your 
advice — but  more  than  sorry,  that  we  have  been  unanimous  in  declining  to  accept 
it.  It  always  gives  us  pain  to  disagree  to  a  friend's  talk — we  are  poor  and  blind 
people,  and  need  much  advice  and  indulgence — you  gave  us  much  good  advice. 
If  you  had  the  power  to  do  everything,  and  it  had  not  to  go  into  other  hands,  it 
might  be  different.  We  have  confidence  in  you — we  hope  to  part  friends,  as  we 
met  friends  ;  and  although  we  do  not  agree  to  your  proposition  for  an  exchange  of 
country,  we  would  have  no  objection,  if  our  great  father  would  permit,  although 
not  with  any  view  to  exchange  our  country,  to  let  six  of  our  people  go  with  our 
older  brothers,  the  Chickasaws,  and  return  home  by  the  way  of  the  Arkansas. 
We  make  this  proposal,  because  you  suggested  it  in  council. 

We  now  wish  you  a  plain  and  straight  path  home,  and  that  health  and  happi- 
ness may  attend  you. 

Your  friends  and  brothers, 

WA  SHA  SHI  MAS  TUBBE,  his  +  mark. 

HOOP  PA  YA  SKIT  TA  NA,  his  +  mark. 

RED  DOG,  his  -f-  mark.  „  .     .    7  ~, .  - 

'  \     Principal  Chiefs. 

DAVID  FOLSOM, 

TAPENA  HOMMA,  his  +  mark. 
GREENWOOD  LEFLORE,  ,  .,d 

E,  YAH,  HO  TUBBEE,  his  -f  mark. 
AH  CHE  LU  LUH,  his  +  mark. 
MITLOKACHU,  his  -f  mark. 
WILLIAM  HAY,  his  +  mark. 
JERH  FOLSOM,  his  -f  mark. 
•  .     HOLUHBEE,  his  -f  mark. 

HOK  LOON  TUBBEE,  his  -f  mark. 
;  ;fc       HOOSH  SHI  HOOM  MA,  his  -f  mark. 
JAMES  PICKENS,  his  -j-  mark. 
OOK  CHAUH  YAH,  his  +  mark. 
P.  P.  PITCHLYNN,  Secretary  pro  tern. 
M.  FOSTER,  Jr.,  National  Secretary. 
To  Colonel  T.  L.  MCKENNEY. 


APPENDIX.  339 

Colonel  McKenney's  Reply  to  the  Choctaw  Chiefs. 

CHOCTAW  AGENCY,  October  17th,  1827. 

FRIENDS  AND  BROTHERS — I  have  received  your  answer  to  my  talk,  declining  to 
accept  the  conditional  arrangement  I  proposed  to  enter  into  with  you  in  council 
yesterday.  I  am  sorry  for  it,  because  it  contained  the  elements  of  your  greatness, 
and  which,  if  complied  with,  would  have  made  you,  at  no  distant  day,  a  great  and 
prosperous  people.  I  do  not  yet  despair  of  your  asking  for  these  privileges. 
This  hope  comforts  my  heart.  I  told  you  I  had  come  to  counsel  with  you  as 
men,  not  as  children ;  and  to  mark  out  a  path  for  you,  and  then  leave  you  to 
walk  in  it,  or  take  another.  Your  declining  to  walk  in  my  path  has  not  changed 
my  feelings  towards  one  of  you — but  rather  increases  my  anxiety  for  your 
happiness. 

I  thank  you  for  the  kindness  with  which  you  have  received  me,  and  for  your 
good  wishes,  as  expressed  for  my  safety  home,  over  a  plain,  straight  path. 

Brothers :  I  cannot  but  feel  troubled  for  you — 1  wish  you  may  escape  the 
thickets,  I  think  I  see  you  may  be  entangled  in — and  the  dark  mountains,  in 
which  I  tremble  to  think  you  must  be  lost,  if  you  do  not  rise  up  and  look  around 
you.  Let  my  voice  keep  sounding  in  your  ears — think  of  me,  and  of  my  coun- 
sels ;  and  if  you  get  into  trouble,  send  me  word,  and,  if  I  can,  I  will  help  you. 
Do  not  fear — we  will  part  friends.  I  never  will  forsake  you.  I  am  the  red  man's 
friend,  and  shall  always  be  so. 

Brothers :  I  have  no  presents  with  me,  but  have  put  means  in  the  hands  of 
your  agent  to  get  a  few  things  for  your  wives  and  children.  They  will  be  few — 
but  they  will  be  marks  of  my  good-will  for  you,  and  so  I  hope  you  will  receive 
them. 

Brothers :  You  spoke  in  your  talk  in  council,  about  your  blood  having  been 
mingled  with  our  blood  in  wars,  and  of  your  friendship  for  the  American  govern- 
ment. I  felt  that — I  know  it  well — and  that  is  one  reason  why  I  want  you  to  be 
a  great  people.  You  desire  to  be  great,  and  to  enjoy  rewards  and  honors,  like 
our  great  men.  I  tell  you,  I  yet  have  hope.  I  do  not  think  you  will  long  hold 
back,  but  soon  (taking  my  advice,)  I  shall  see  you  smile  over  your  children,  re- 
joicing to  think  they  are  born  to  the  enjoyment  of  the  rights  and  privileges  of  our 
free  and  happy  republic. 

Brothers :  I  will  ask  your  great  father  to  let  six  of  your  people,  and  an  inter- 
preter, go  with  your  elder  brothers,  the  Chickasaws  ;  and,  on  their  way  home,  to 
visit  their  friends  in  Arkansas.  I  hope  he  may  grant  the  request. 

I  shake  hands  with  you,  and  pray  the  Great  Spirit  to  preserve  and  bless  you. 
Your  friend  and  brother, 

[Signed]  THOMAS  L.  McKENNEY. 

To   Colonel  DAVID  FOLSOM,  Colonel    GREENWOOD    LEFLORE,  TUP-PE-NA-HOMO, 
and  others. 


(H.) 
Colonel  McKenney  to  the  Secretary  of  War. 

MILLEDGEVILLE,  GEORGIA,  November  17,  1827. 

Sir — I  am  happy  in  having  it  in  my  power  to  inform  you,  that  articles  of  agree- 
ment and  cession  were,  on  the  morning  of  the  15th  inst.,  entered  into,  at  the 
Creek  agency,  with  the  Creeks,  and  which  were  concluded  at  the  moment  of  the 


340  APPENDIX. 

arrival  of  the  stage,  which  left  me  no  time  to  announce  it  from  there,  which  secure 
to  the  United  States  all  the  lands  owned  or  claimed  by  them,  within  the  chartered 
limits  of  Georgia.  This  agreement  is  signed  by  the  Little  Prince,  the  head  of 
the  nation,  and  five  of  his  principal  men,  and  is  to  be  binding,  when  approved  and 
ratified  by  the  President  and  Senate,  on  the  one  hand,  and  sanctioned  on  the 
other  by  a  council  of  the  Creeks,  which,  it  is  stipulated  in  the  articles,  shall  be 
immediately  convened  for  the  purpose.  This  sanctioning,  in  council,  is  required 
by  one  of  their  laws. 

I  left  the  articles  with  the  agent,  who  will  attend  to  the  council,  and  superadd 
the  usual  certificate  in  such  cases.  The  agent  having  been  previously  enjoined 
to  prosecute  this  subject,  if  possible,  to  a  favorable  issue,  is  joined  in  the  instrument 
with  me.  It  is  due  to  him  that  he  should  be  so  associated,  no  less  on  account  of 
the  powers  with  which  I  found  him  vested,  than  to  the  zeal  with  which  I  disco- 
vered he  had  endeavored  to  fulfil  your  instructions  with  regard  to  this  matter. 

I  have  time  only  to  add,  that  the  condition-money  for  the  land  is  forty-two 
thousand  five  hundred  and  ninety-one  dollars. 

I  derive  an  additional  gratification  in  making  this  communication,  from  my 
knowledge  of  the  deep  anxiety  which  you  have  so  long  felt  to  have  this  contro- 
versy settled. 

I  will  make  you,  as  soon  after  my  return  as  possible,  a  detailed  report  of  my 
proceedings  under  this,  as  also  other  branches  of  your  instructions  of  28th  March 
last,  and  10th  April ;  and  submit,  also,  views  of  policy  in  regard  to  our  Indian 
relations,  especially  those  of  the  four  southern  tribes,  which  have  been  suggested 
by  a  personal  inspection  of  the  condition  of  three  of  them. 
I  have  the  honor  to  be, 
Very  respectfully, 

Your  obedient  servant, 

THOMAS  L.  MCKENNEY. 

Hon.  JAMES  BARBOUR,  Secretary  of  War. 


END    OF    VOLUME    I. 


7%£  original  portrait  painted  in.  JLondorv  in   /6/6 was    copied,  bf  SuUf  in,  /83O.   From  Mat  copy 

this  likeness  was  enyrayed;.     For  d&ttultd,  t-videjicf*  of  its  cuUJienticify  see  Mc  JCeruiey  <b  Halt  s  work 
ont/ie  Afortfa  Anif-ficaji,  Indians, J?ic&£.  Clark's  edrition fhtlad'?' 


ON  THE 


ORIGIN,  HISTORY,  CHARACTER, 


WRONGS  AND  RIGHTS 


OF  THE 


INDIANS, 


WITH 


A  PLAN  FOR  THE  PRESERVATION  AND  HAPPINESS  OF  THE 
REMNANTS  OF  THAT  PERSECUTED  RACE. 


BY 
THOMAS  I.  M'KENNEY, 


VOLUME  II. 


NEW   YORK: 

PAINE  AND  BURGESS,  60  JOHN-ST. 
1846 


Entered  according  to  act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1846, 
By  PAINE  &  BURGESS, 

In  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  Southern  District  of 
New  York. 


DEDICATION  OF  VOL.  II. 


To  MRS.  E.  SAUNDERS,  Salem,  Mass. 

Madam — The  moment  I  concluded  to  publish  my  Dis- 
courses on  the  Origin,  History  and  Character,  and  the 
Wrongs  and  Rights  of  the  Indians,  it  was  in  association 
with  your  name.  How  natural !  You  have,  with  your 
pen,  most  eloquently  pleaded  the  cause  of  the  poor  Indians, 
and  by  your  purse  sustained  the  efforts  of  others,  made  in 
their  behalf.  These  very  Discourses  were  made  to  reach 
the  ears  of  thousands,  by  the  instrumentality  of  your  un- 
solicited, unlooked  for,  and  generous  co-operation ;  and 
you  occupy  that  distinguished  position  alone ;  no  assist- 
ance, of  a  like  sort,  having  been  proffered  by  any  other 
hand. 

The  victors,  in  the  ancient  games,  were  crowned  with 
laurel.  Theirs  was  the  ephemeral  glory  of  a  day ;  or,  at 
most,  of  a  generation,  unmingled  with  a  single  ray  of  hu- 
manity, and  unadorned  by  a  particle  of  benevolence.  Your 
writings,  madam,  in  behalf  of  the  one,  and  your  contribu- 
tions in  aid  of  the  other,  have  secured  to  you  a  crown  of 
enduring  brightness,  with  which  FAME  never  fails  to  sur- 
mount the  brows  of  all  who  contribute  their  aid  towards 
the  relief  of  suffering  humanity. 

Accept,  madam,  the  humble  offering  I  now  make  of  a 
dedication  of  these  Discourses  to  you — of  my  prayers  that 
you  may  long  live  to  adorn  human  nature,  illustrate  the 


IV  DEDICATION,   ETC. 

benevolence  of  the  Gospel,  and  make  happy  and  bless  the 
society  of  your  family  and  friends. 

THOMAS  L.  McKENNEY. 
Cape  Cottage,  February,  1845. 


SALEM,  November,  1845. 

Dear  Sir — The  Origin,  History  and  Character,  and  the 
Wrongs  and  Rights  of  the  Indians — these  are  all  too 
deeply  impressed  on  my  heart  and  mind,  ever  to  be  ef- 
faced— and  could  my  name  or  influence  afford  any  weight 
to  your  just  and  powerful  arguments  in  favor  of  this  ill- 
fated  but  noble  race,  it  would  give  me  the  highest  satisfac- 
tion. Should  our  government  have  the  justice  and  mag- 
nanimity to  do  all  now  in  their  power  to  restore  this  fallen 
race,  our  country  may  be  saved  from  that  retributive  jus- 
tice which  our  manifold  offences  demand. 

That  your  noble  efforts  may  be  crowned  with  success, 
is  the  fervent  prayer  of  your  very  sincere  friend, 

ELIZABETH  SAUNDERS. 

COLONEL  MCKENNEY. 


PREFACE  TO  VOL  II. 


THE  Discourses  which  are  presented  to  the  public,  in 
the  following  pages,  are  the  same  that  were  delivered 
during  the  years  1843-4,  in  various  parts  of  Maine,  New 
Hampshire,  Connecticut,  New  York,  New  Jersey,  Penn- 
sylvania and  Maryland,  including  Annapolis,  before  the 
legislature,  and  Harrisburgh,  in  the  capitol  of  Pennsylva- 
nia, by  a  vote  of  the  House,  granting  the  hall  for  the  pur- 
pose. Numerous  distinguished  citizens,  among  the  crowds 
that  honored  the  author  with  their  presence,  in  all  of 
these  states,  were  kind  enough,  by  letters  and  otherwise, 
to  bestow  high  commendations  upon  them,  as  did  also  the 
press,  both  political  and  religious,  embracing  all  parties, 
and  all  sects. 

The  author's  object  was  to  awaken  in  the  public  mind 
an  interest  in  behalf  of  the  Indian  race,  and  their  destiny ; 
to  give  impetus  to  public  opinion  in  regard  to  what  ought 
to  be  done,  and  done  speedily,  for  their  welfare  ;  and  when 
that  opinion  should  be  fully  formed,  bring  it  to  bear  on 
Congress,  in  connection  with  a  plan  for  the  preservation 
and  well-being  of  the  remnants  of  this  hapless  people. 

Circumstances  over  which  the  author  has  no  control, 
will  not  allow  of  his  carrying  out  his  original  purpose  of 
visiting  and  traversing  all  the  states,  in  person — and  still 
anxious  to  accomplish  the  same  objects — which  he  be- 
lieves concern  not  the  Indian  race  alone,  but  the  honor 
and  fame,  as  well  as  the  peace  of  the  nation — has  con- 
cluded to  refer  to  this  volume  the  performance  of  what 
yet  remains  to  be  done. 


VI  PREFACE    TO   VOL.   II. 

In  this  little  messenger,  the  reader  will  find  discussed 
the  question  of  THE  ORIGIN  of  the  Indian  race ;  their  HIS- 
TORY will  be  glanced  at,  and  their  CHARACTER  portrayed ; 
whilst  their  WRONGS  will  be  made  manifest,  and  their 
RIGHTS  enforced. 

It  not  having  been  in  the  view  of  the  author,  at  the 
time  of  preparing  these  Discourses,  to  publish  them,  he 
was  not  particular  in  making,  always,  quotation  marks,  or 
marks  of  reference  to  authors  whom  he  consulted ;  and  it 
sometimes  happened,  when  their  language  was  better  than 
his  own,  he  employed  it.  The  reader  will  find  the  ad- 
dresses printed  as  they  were  delivered.  He  will  be  kind 
enough,  therefore,  to  accept  of  this  explanation,  and  apply 
it  to  all  cases  where  quotations  are  not  made,  and  the 
usual  marks  of  reference  happen  to  be  omitted. 

After  all,  however,  the  author  has  no  very  strong  reason 
for  being  particularly  sensitive  on  this  point,  as  his  own 
writings  have  had  very  free  liberties  taken  with  them  by 
many  who  have  written  on  this  Indian  subject,  since  it 
first  claimed,  over  twenty  years  ago,  his  attention  ;  and  yet 
he  would  not  be  thought  insensible  to  the  claims  of  others, 
in  such  matters. 

And  now,  whoever  may  take  up  this  work,  will  consider 
him  or  herself  as  being  appealed  to  by  the  thousands  of 
the  sons  and  daughters  of  the  wilderness  in  whose  bosoms 
quiver  the  arrows  shot  from  the  bow  of  the  white  man's 
cruelty,  and  down  whose  cheeks  stream  tears  of  supplica- 
tion for  relief ! 

Who,  in  view  of  the  fact  that  we  are  now  enjoying  the 
blessings  and  benefits  arising  out  of  a  country  and  home 
that  were  once  owned  by  this  down-trodden,  impoverished, 
and  suffering  race,  who  have  been  persecuted  and  driven 
into  their  present  wretched  exile  by  our  fathers  and  our- 
selves, will  refuse  to  lend  an  hour  to  their  cause,  or  to 
second  and  sustain  a  plan  for  their  relief  ? 


DISCOUKSE  I. 

ORIGIN  OF  THE  RACES,  ANCIENT  AND  MODERN,  THAT 
PEOPLED  AMERICA,  PREVIOUS  TO  ITS  DISCOVERY  BY 
COLUMBUS. 


PART  I. 

PROBABLE    ORIGIN    OF    THE     PRESENT    INDIAN    TRIBES    OF 
NORTH   AMERICA. 

Limits  of  the  question  proposed — Deep  interest  felt  in  it — Lasting  effect  of  early 
impressions — Their  injustice  to  Indian  character — Who  are  the  Indians  ? — Are 
they  descendants  of  the  lost  tribes  of  Israel  ? — Adair — Boudinot — Hubbard — 
Lord  Kaimes'  theory — An  original,  underived  race — Absurdity,  as  well  as  infi- 
delity of  this  theory — Nea-Mathla's  theory  of  the  distinctive  races  of  man — 
American  Indians  of  Tartar  origin — Similarity  of  language  no  proper  criterion 
of  judgment — Ledyard's  opinion — The  Indians  resemble  the  Tartars  in  physical 
conformation — Remarkable  uniformity  of  features — Ledyard — The  same  monu- 
ments— Habitations,  and  wandering  habits — Ineffectual  efforts  to  induce  them 
to  adopt  more  comfortable  dwellings — Their  improvidence — Modes  of  dress — 
Use  and  value  of  wampum — Remarkable  wampum  belt  among  the  Wyandots — 
Similarity  of  faith  and  worship- — Dr.  Wolf — Mon-Catchape,  an  Indian  antiqua- 
rian— His  researches  and  their  results — By  what  route  did  the  Indians  reach 
our  shores  ? — Behring's  Strait  not  so  wide  formerly  as  now — The  two  conti- 
nents probably  joined — Probable  causes  of  the  original  emigration — Deacon 
Sockbason  and  his  voyage. 

HE  who  proposes,  at  this  time  of  day,  to  discuss  the 
question  of  the  ORIGIN  of  the  Indian  tribes  of  North  Amer- 
ica, can  mean  nothing  more,  of  course,  than  to  offer  the 
theory  which  has,  as  he  views  it,  the  strongest  claims  to 
be  considered  the  true  one.  This  is  the  position  I  occupy, 
on  this  occasion,  in  relation  to  this  question.  All  I  can 
promise,  is,  to  lift  as  much  as  I  may  be  able  of  the  age- 

VOL.  n.  2 


10  ON  THE   ORIGIN,  HISTORY,  &c.,  OF  THE 

worn  and  cumbrous  curtain  that  time  has  let  fall  between 
the  early  history  of  this  race,  and  the  period  when,  from 
our  closer  proximity,  we  are  made  better  acquainted  with 
their  character,  and  with  the  events  that  give  such  thrilling 
interest  to  their  history.  Nothing  of  absolute  certainty 
will  ever,  in  all  probability,  be  discovered,  beyond  those 
limits — everything  there  being  involved  in  the  "  outer  dark- 
ness," and  buried  amidst  the  accumulated  ruins  of  ages. 

It  is  scarcely  possible,  I  think,  no  matter  in  what  way 
the  subject  is  approached,  to  deprive  it  of  its  intrinsic  in- 
terest. Whether  we  bring  it  to  the  mind's  imaginings,  and 
employ  these  as  drapery,  to  adorn  a  favorite  theory,  or 
come  to  it  laden  with  facts  and  lumbered  up  with  details, 
the  ear  will  listen  to  these  imaginings,  and  the  memory  will 
store  away  the  more  solid  materials,  drawn  from  the  rec- 
ords of  this  hapless  race. 

BURNS,  the  celebrated  Scottish  bard,  owed  much  of  his 
poetry,  he  tells  us  in  one  of  his  letters,  to  "  an  old  woman 
who  resided  in  the  family,  remarkable  for  her  ignorance, 
credulity,  and  superstition.  She  had,  I  suppose,"  says 
Burns,  "  the  largest  collection  in  the  country,  of  tales  and 
songs  concerning  devils,  ghosts,  fairies,  brownies,  witches, 
warlocks,  spunkies,  kelpies,  elf-candles,  towers,  dragons, 
and  other  trumpery."  Besides  "  cultivating  the  latent 
seeds  of  poetry,"  these  songs  and  stories,  he  says,  "  had 
so  strong  an  effect  upon  his  imagination,  that  to  the  hour 
when  he  wrote  that  letter,  in  his  nocturnal  rambles,  he 
kept  a  sharp  look-out  in  suspicious  places,"  &c. 

Now,  there  are  few  of  us  who  have  not  been  similarly 
affected,  in  our  juvenile  years,  by  our  nurses,  and  others, 
in  the  pictures  they  would  draw  of  the  border  wars,  in 
which  the  Indian  was  always  in  the  foreground,  engaged  in 
the  death-grapple  with  the  settler — or  in  striking  his  tom- 
ahawk, and  leaving  it  there,  quivering  and  bloody,  into  the 
victim's  temples — or  in  firing  the  frontier  cabin — or  shoot- 
ing, with  his  rifle,  some  flying  female,  until  we  fancied  we 


ABORIGINES  OF  NORTH  AMERICA.  u 

heard  the  crack  of  it — or  in  personal  contest  with  a  moth- 
er, to  wrest  from  her  her  infant,  whose  brains  were  in  the 
next  moment  dashed  out  upon  the  ground — whilst  the  yell 
and  the  war-whoop  were  made  to  ring  in  our  ears  from  all 
the  borders. 

It  is  to  these  early  impressions,  doubtless,  that  so  many 
of  us  owe  much  of  the  interest  we  take  in  whatever  re- 
lates to  this  hapless  race ;  and  especially  are  we  to  attrib- 
ute all  of  the  enmity  that  so  many  cherish  toward  the  red 
man,  upon  whom  we  had  been  taught  to  look  as  the  bar- 
barous instigator  to  those  appalling  tragedies.  It  will  be 
part  of  my  business  in  my  second  discourse,  to  rescue  the 
Indian  from  this  imputation,  and  to  show  that  he  was  acting 
only  on  the  defensive. 

But  I  am  anticipated  by  you,  and  already  have  the  fol- 
lowing questions  been  revolving  in  your  minds  : — "  WHO 
ARE  THE  INDIANS  ?  WHENCE  CAME  THEY  ?  WHEN,  AND 
BY  WHAT  ROUTE,  WAS  THEIR  ExODUS  FROM  THE  LAND  OF 
THEIR  ORIGIN,  TO  THIS,  IN  WHICH  OUR  ANCESTORS  FOUND 
THEM  ?  WHO  WERE  THEY,  IF  ANY,  THAT  PRECEDED  THEM 
IN  THE  OCCUPANCY  OF  THIS  COUNTRY  ?  To  WHAT  PEO- 
PLE, IF  NOT  TO  THE  INDIANS,  ARE  WE  TO  ATTRIBUTE  THE 
ERECTION  OF  THOSE  MOUNDS  AND  CIRCUMVALLATIONS,  THE 
REMAINS  OF  WHICH  ARE  TO  BE  FOUND  REACHING  FROM  OUR 

NORTHERN  LAKES  TO  FLORIDA  ?  IF  BUILT  BY  ANOTHER 
RACE,  BY  WHAT  RACE  ?  AND  WHAT  HAS  BECOME  OF  THAT 
PEOPLE  ?" 

These  are  embarrassing  questions !  They  pass  over  a 
lengthened  void — terminate  in  the  far-distant  past,  and 
amidst  a  darkness  such  as  comes  of  another  night  upon 
midnight.  Our  resort,  in  the  absence  of  almost  everything 
that  could  be  converted  into  authentic  data,  must  be,  there- 
fore, necessarily,  in  great  part,  at  least,  to  theory. 

Who,  then,  are  the  Indians  ? 

They  are  supposed  by  some,  as  you  all  know,  to  be  de- 
scendants of  the  Israelites.  A  world  of  speculat'cn  has 


12  ON  THE  ORIGIN,  HISTORY,  &c.,  OF  THE 

been  exhausted  in  support  of  this  theory.  Among  those 
who  labored  most  to  establish  it,  was  ADAIR,  who  wrote 
and  published  a  large  quarto  volume  in  its  support.  Bou- 
DINOT,  in  his  Star  in  the  West,  backs  Adair  manfully,  and 
reasons  himself  into  the  conclusion  that  the  "  long-lost  ten 
tribes  of  Israel,"  are,  by  descent,  seen  in  the  persons  and 
tribes  of  the  American  Indians.  This  theory  has  found 
favor  with  many,  and  some  have  adopted  it.  Long,  how- 
ever, before  Adair  wrote,  and  as  far  back  as  1680 — and 
when  the  rituals  of  the  Indians  were  more  clearly  marked, 
and  less  diluted  with  other  ceremonies — HUBBARD  had 
sifted  this  question,  and  after  winnowing  away  the  chaff, 
says,  "  Doubtless  those  who  fancy  the  Indians  to  be  de- 
scended from  the  ten  tribes  of  the  Israelites,  carried  cap- 
tive by  Shalmaneser  and  Esarhaddin,  hath  the  least  show 
of  reason  of  any  other ;  there  being  no  footsteps  to  be 
observed  of  their  propinquity  to  them,  more  than  to  any 
other  tribes  of  the  earth,  either  as  to  their  language  or 
manners." 

Now,  Hubbard  was  a  divine  and  a  historian,  and  lived 
at  a  time  when  the  Indians  were  numerous,  and  more  ob- 
servant, it  is  fair  to  presume,  of  their  pristine  customs. 
As  a  divine,  he  was,  doubtless,  well  acquainted  with  the 
Jewish  ceremonies  ;  and  living  in  the  early  period  of  the 
settlement  of  this  country,  and  in  close  personal  connexion 
with  the  Indian  tribes,  and  being  a  man  of  education  and 
talents,  it  is  a  fair  inference,  that  if  there  had  been  any  re- 
semblance, either  in  language  or  rituals,  of  any  sort,  be- 
tween the  Jews  and  the  Indians,  he  would  have  detected 
it.  But  the  testimony  from  such  a  source,  and  from  that 
early  period,  is  in  direct  opposition  to  the  theory  of  Adair, 
and  those  who  agree  with  him  in  opinion. 

Doctor  Wolf,  whose  travels  have  been  extensive,  and 
whose  observation  is  close  and  pertinent,  having  journeyed 
from  Abyssinia  to  Bombay,  and  from  Bombay  to  the  United 
States,  made,  on  his  arrival  here,  some  reference  to 


ABORIGINES  OF  NORTH  AMERICA.  13 

this  question,  which  has  thrown  a  good  deal  of  light 
upon  it. 

"  Worthy  people,"  says  the  doctor,  "  desired  me  to  tra- 
vel about  with  them,  in  order  that  I  might  convince  the 
Indians  of  their  extraction  from  the  Jews ;  but  this  was 
putting  the  argument  the  wrong  way.  I  wanted  the  Indians 
to  convince  me  of  their  origin,  and  not  to  aid  in  deluding 
them  into  the  notion,  as  I  perceived  many  well-intentioned 
people  did. 

"  I  came  among  the  Mohican  tribe,  near  New  York, 
and  asked  them  *  Whose  descendants  are  you  ?'  They  re- 
plied, '  We  are  of  Israel.'  I  asked, '  Who  told  you  so  ?'  and 
expected  to  hear  much  ancient  tradition.  To  my  great 
surprise,  they  said,  '  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Simon,  of  Scotland.' " 

My  own  personal  observation  has  led  me  to  the  same 
conclusion,  that  our  Indians  are  not  the  descendants  of  the 
lost  tribes  of  Israel* 

Lord  KAIMES  is  not  willing  to  admit  that  they  are  of  for- 
eign origin  at  all ;  or  that  they  are  the  descendants  of  any 
people,  and  claims  for  them  the  distinction  of  an  original 
and  separate  race.  "America,"  says  his  lordship,  "has 
not  been  peopled  from  any  part  of  the  old  world."  His 
lordship  blunders,  however,  in  one,  at  least,  of  his  proofs : 
he  asserts  that  "  the  Americans" — meaning  the  Indians — 
"  have  no  beards."  This  we  all  know  to  be  an  error.  It 
is  true,  very  few  of  them  are  thus  equipped.  It  is  not, 
however,  because  nature  has  denied  to  them  this  append- 
age, but  because  they  decline  the  acceptance  of  the  boon, 
and,  in  token  of  their  dislike  to  it,  pluck  it  out.  Aged  In- 
dians, however,  tired  of  the  process,  sometimes  omit  to  do 
this,  when  the  appendage  re-appears. 

But  this  hypothesis  of  his  lordship  may  be  fairly  met  by 
something  more  conclusive  than  by  the  overturning  of  that 
part  of  it  which  denies  beards  to  the  Indians.  It  is  true,  he 

*  The  only  resemblance  observed  by  me,  (and  that  was  confined  to  the  Chip- 
peways,)  was  in  their  houses  of  purification. 


14  ON  THE  ORIGIN,  HISTORY,  &c.,  OF  THE 

may  reserve  the  right,  although  he  does  not  express  it,  to  lo- 
cate the  ancient  paradise  in  some  one  of  the  fair  portions 
of  this  continent ;  and  assume  that  creative  power  was  ex- 
ercised here  ;  that  here  the  first  man  Adam  was  "  formed  of 
the  dust  of  the  ground ;"  and  that  the  Indians  are  the  im- 
mediate descendants  of  this  Adam,  and  that  the  world  has 
been  peopled  from  America,  and  thus  jump  to  the  conclu- 
sion that  "  America  has  not  been  peopled  from  any  part 
of  the  old  world." 

Apart  from  such  surmises,  and  with  the  Bible  before  us, 
both  his  lordship's  assumptions  and  conclusions  must  be 
denied ;  and  especially,  since,  before  either  can  be  admitted, 
it  would  be  required  of  him  to  tell  in  what  part  of  this  con- 
tinent "  the  garden  was  planted,"  and  where  the  river  went 
out  that  watered  it ;  and  where  this  river  "  was  parted,  and 
became  into  four  heads ;"  and  where  the  lands  that  were 
compassed  by  these  four  rivers.  All  this  must  be  made 
plain,  or  we  who  differ  with  his  lordship,  have  the  right  to 
insist  that  the  garden  was  nowhere  in  America ;  and  if  not 
here,  then  it  must  have  been  elsewhere  ;  and  wherever  that 
elsewhere  is,  there  we  have  the  recorded  testimony  of  the 
Bible  to  authorize  our  belief,  man  was  formed ;  and  thence, 
it  is  fair  to  infer,  came  his  descendants  to  people  the  earth. 

I  am  aware  that  opinions  are  entertained  by  some,  em- 
bracing the  theory  of  multiform  creations ;  by  such,  the 
doctrine  that  the  whole  family  of  man  sprang  from  one 
original  and  common  stock,  is  denied.  There  is,  however, 
but  one  source  whence  information  can  be  derived  on  this 
subject — and  that  is  the  Bible ;  and,  until  those  who  base 
their  convictions  on  Bible  testimony,  consent  to  throw 
aside  that  great  land-mark  of  truth,  they  must  continue  in 
the  belief  that  "  the  Lord  God  formed  man  of  the  dust  of 
the  ground,  and  breathed  into  his  nostrils  the  breath  of 
life,  when  he  became  a  living  soul."  Being  thus  formed, 
and  thus  endowed,  he  was  put  by  his  Creator  in  the  gar- 
den, which  was  eastward,  in  Eden,  whence  flowed  the  river 


ABORIGINES  OF  NORTH  AMERICA.  15 

which  parted,  and  became  into  four  heads  ;  and  that  from 
his  fruitfulness  his  species  were  propagated. 

But  this  Bible  account  of  the  creation  of  man  has  been 
sustained  from  the  beginning  till  now ;  for  nowhere  have 
external  elements,  whether  of  the  "  dust  of  the  ground,"  or 
any  other,  combined  to  form  man,  or  anything  in  the  least 
approximating  to  him.  If  man,  as  some  have  assumed, 
were  the  product  of  certain  combinations  of  external  ele- 
ments, apart  from  the  direct  and  life-giving  energy  of  God- 
like power,  why  have  not  such  creations,  and  under  these 
forms,  been  continued  ? 

That  the  whole  human  family  sprang  from  an  original 
pair,  that  pair  being  the  product  of  the  power  of  God, 
operating  upon  external  matter,  is  a  truth  so  universally 
admitted,  as  to  render  any  elaborate  argument  in  its  sup- 
port superfluous.  If,  therefore,  the  garden  of  Eden  is 
nowhere  in  America,  Adam,  (the  Adam  of  the  Bible,  and 
we  have  no  authentic  record  of  any  other,)  could  not  have 
been  created  here.  The  Indians  cannot  be,  therefore,  in- 
digenous to  America,  but,  being  descendants  of  the  origi- 
nal pair,  they  must  have  come  of  some  one  of  the  families 
that  settled  and  peopled  some  one  of  the  divisions  of  the 
globe.  In  other  words,  they  must  be  of  Asiatic,  of  Afri- 
can, or  of  European  descent. 

Having  thus  given  the  opinions  of  some  of  the  learned 
of  our  race  respecting  the  creation  of  man,  it  may  not  be 
deemed  irrelevant  to  state  the  belief  of  at  least  some  of 
the  Indians  upon  that  same  subject. 

The  government  had  made  arrangements,  somewhere 
about  the  year  1825,  for  introducing  among  the  Seminoles 
of  Florida,  the  school  system,  and  a  sum  of  money  was 
appropriated  for  that  object.  It  was  resisted  by  NEA- 
MATHLA,  a  chief,  at  that  time,  of  distinction,  and  exerci- 
sing over  that  tribe  great  authority.  After  several  ineffec- 
tual attempts  to  apply  the  government  bounty  under  that 
form,  a  council  was  held,  when  Nea-Mathla  rose  and  ad- 


16  ON  THE   ORIGIN,  HISTORY,  &c.,  OF  THE 

dressed  Governor  Duval,  ex-officio  Superintendent  of  In- 
dian Affairs,  as  follows  : — 

"  Father — It  is  not  my  wish  to  have  my  red  children 
made  white  children  of.  When  the  Great  Spirit  made 
man,  he  made  him  as  he  is,  and  under  three  marks.  He 
assigned  to  each  color,  at  the  creation,  the  duties  of  each ; 
and  it  was  never  intended  that  they  should  mingle. 

"  Father — This  was  the  way  in  which  the  Great  Spirit 
made  man.  He  stood  upon  a  high  place.  Then  taking 
into  his  hand  some  dust,  he  mixed  it,  and  dried  it,  and  then 
blew  upon  it,  sending  it  from  his  hand  in  front  of  him — 
when  there  stood  up  before  him  a  white  man  ! 

"  The  Great  Spirit  was  sorry.  He  saw  that  what  he  had 
made  was  not  what  he  aimed  at.  The  man  was  white  ! 
He  looked  feeble  and  sickly.  When  the  Great  Spirit, 
looking  at  him,  said,  '  White  man,  I  have  given  you  life. 
You  are  not  what  I  want.  I  could  send  you  where  you 
came  from ;  but  no — I  will  not  take  away  your  life.  Stand 
aside.'  The  Great  Spirit  mixed  up  the  dust  again,  and 
drying  it,  blew  upon  it  again — and  there  stood  before  him 
a  black  man  ! 

"  The  Great  Spirit  was  grieved.  He  saw,  now,  this  man 
was  black  and  ugly ;  so  he  bade  him  stand  aside ;  when, 
mixing  up  the  dust  again,  he  blew  upon  it — and  there  stood 
before  him  A  RED  MAN  !  The  Great  Spirit  smiled.  At 
this  moment,  all  looked  up  and  saw  an  opening  in  the  hea- 
vens, and  through  it  descended,  slowly,  three  boxes.  They 
came  down,  at  last,  and  rested  on  the  ground ;  when  the 
Great  Spirit  spoke,  saying,  '  I  have  given  life  to  you  all. 
The  red  man,  alone,  is  my  favorite  ;  but  you  shall  all  live. 
You  must,  however,  fulfil,  each  of  you,  the  duties  that  are 
suited  to  you.  These  three  boxes  contain  the  tools  you 
are  to  use  in  getting  what  is  necessary  to  support  you.' 
So  saying,  he  called  to  him  the  white  man.  '  White  man,' 
said  the  Great  Spirit, '  you  are  not  my  favorite — but  I  made 
you  first.  Open  these  boxes,  and  look,  and  choose  which 


ABORIGINES  OF  NORTH  AMERICA.  17 

you  will  take.  They  contain  the  implements  you  are  all 
three  to  use  through  life. 

"  The  white  man  opened  the  boxes,  looked  in,  and  said, 
'  /'//  take  this.'  It  was  full  of  pens,  and  ink,  and  paper,  and 
all  the  things  you  white  people  use.  He  looked  at  the 
black  man,  saying,  *  I  made  you  next,  but  I  cannot  allow 
you  to  have  the  second  choice ;'  then  turning  to  the  red 
man,  he  smiled,  and  spoke,  saying,  '  Come,  my  favorite, 
and  make  a  choice.'  The  red  man  looked  into  the  two 
remaining  boxes,  and  said,  ' /'//  take  this'  That  was  full 
of  beaver-traps,  bows  and  arrows,  and  all  the  kind  of  things 
the  Indians  use.  Then  the  Great  Spirit  said  to  the  negro, 
'  You  can  take  this ;'  and  that  was  full  of  hoes  and  axes — 
plainly  showing  that  the  black  man  was  made  to  labor  for 
both  the  white  and  red  man. 

"  Father — Thus  did  the  Great  Spirit  make  man,  and  in 
this  way  did  he  provide  the  instruments  for  him  to  labor 
with.  It  is  not  his  will  that  our  red  children  shall  use  the 
articles  that  came  down  in  the  box  which  the  white  man 
chose,  any  more  than  it  is  proper  for  the  white  man  to  take 
of  the  implements  that  were  prepared  by  the  Great  Spirit 
for  the  use  of  his  red  children." 

The  result  was,  the  means  provided  for  the  support  of 
schools  were  rejected,  and  have  never  been  employed  to 
this  day. 

Nea-Mathla's  account  of  the  creation  of  man  may  ap- 
pear visionary,  and  doubtless  is  so.  But  is  it  any  more  so 
than  are  others  emanating  from  some  of  the  learned  of  our 
race,  who  venture  to  strike  light  from  their  own  minds,  and 
not  from  the  Source  of  all  Light  ? 

If  the  Indians  are  not  the  descendants  of  the  lost  tribes 
of  Israel,  nor  indigenous  to  this  continent,  the  question  re- 
curs, "  WHO  ARE  THEY  ?" 

I  believe  them  to  be  branches  of  the  great  Tartar  stock. 
I  have  had  occasion  to  publish  my  views  of  this  subject, 
and  beg  leave  to  introduce,  on  this  occasion,  a  portion,  at 

VOL.  n.  3 


18  ON  THE  ORIGIN,  HISTORY,  &c.,  OF  THE 

least,  of  what  has  been  heretofore  written.  In  arriving  at 
the  conclusion  that  the  Indians  are  of  Tartar  origin,  I  have 
not  given  much  weight  to  any  casual  coincidences  that 
may  be  discovered  between  the  Asiatic  and  American  dia- 
lects. Of  all  the  sources  of  information  by  which  the  de- 
scent of  nations  can  be  traced,  I  consider  the  deductions 
of  comparative  etymology,  when  applied  to  a  written  lan- 
guage, the  most  uncertain.  It  is  difficult,  in  such  cases,  to 
fix,  with  accuracy,  the  true  sound  of  words ;  and  it  is  well 
known  that  coincidences  exist  in  many  languages,  radically 
different  from  one  another,  and  spoken  by  communities 
whose  separation  from  any  common  stock,  precedes  all 
historic  monuments.  Such  coincidences  are  either  acci- 
dental, or  the  analagous  words  are  the  common  relics  of 
that  universal  tongue  which  was  lost  in  the  miraculous  in- 
terposition upon  the  plains  of  Shinar. 

I  will  state  a  fact  illustrative  of  this  position,  which  de- 
monstrates the  futility  of  any  conclusion  drawn  from  such 
premises.  It  is  well  known  that  the  practice  of  dividing 
fields  in  England,  by  ditches,  was  introduced  in  the  last 
century.  When  it  was  first  adopted,  the  common  people 
were  suddenly  arrested  in  their  walks  upon  the  brink  of 
these  ditches,  without  being  aware  of  their  existence,  until 
they  approached  them.  Their  surprise  was  manifested  by 
the  exclamation  "JEZa-Aa;"  and  eventually,  the  ditches 
themselves  were  denominated  Ha-ha.  Among  the  Sioux 
Indians,  the  Falls  of  St.  Anthony  are  called  Ha-ha.  These 
falls,  approached  from  below,  are  not  visible  until  a  pro- 
jecting point  is  passed,  when  they  burst  upon  the  traveller 
in  all  their  grandeur.  The  Indians,  no  doubt,  struck  with 
the  sudden  and  glorious  prospect,  marked  their  surprise,  as 
did  the  English  peasants,  with  the  same  exclamation, 
"  Ha-ha  ;"  and  this  exclamation  has  become,  in  the  Sioux 
language,  the  name  of  the  cataract.  He  who  would  de- 
duce from  this  coincidence,  the  common  origin  of  the  Eng- 
lish and  the  Sioux  Indians,  would  reason  as  logically  as 


ABORIGINES  OF  NORTH  AMERICA.  19 

many  of  those  who  arrange  the  branches  of  the  human 
family  into  classes,  because  a  few  doubtful  resemblances 
in  their  vocabularies  are  discovered. 

Some  curious  observations  were  made  on  this  subject, 
by  the  celebrated  American  traveller,  John  Ledyard.*  The 
wide  extent  of  his  travels  among  savage  nations,  in  almost 
every  region  of  the  globe,  together  with  his  remarkable 
sagacity  in  discriminating,  and  facility  in  recording  the  pe- 
culiarities of  savage  manners  and  character,  give  a  value 
to  his  opinions  and  remarks  on  this  subject,  which  those 
of  few  other  persons  can  claim. 

"  I  have  not,"  says  Ledyard,  (as  he  states  in  his  journal 
written  in  Siberia,)  "  I  have  not  yet  taken  any  vocabula- 
ries written  in  the  Tartar  language.  If  I  take  any,  they 
will  be  very  short  ones.  Nothing  is  more  apt  to  deceive 
than  vocabularies,  when  taken  by  an  entire  stranger.  Men 
of  scientific  curiosity  make  use  of  them  in  investigating 
questions  of  philosophy  as  well  as  history,  and,  I  think,  of- 
ten with  too  much  confidence,  since  nothing  is  more  diffi- 
cult than  to  take  a  vocabulary  that  shall  answer  any  good 
ends  for  that  purpose.  The  different  sounds  of  the  same 
letters,  and  of  the  same  combinations  of  letters,  in  the  lan- 
guages of  Europe,  present  an  insurmountable  obstacle  to 
making  a  vocabulary  that  shall  be  of  general  use.  The 
different  manner,  also,  in  which  persons  of  the  same  lan- 
guage, would  write  the  words  of  a  new  language,  would  be 
such  that  a  stranger  might  suppose  them  to  be  two  lan- 
guages. 

"  Most  uncultivated  languages,"  he  proceeds,  "  are  very 
difficult  to  be  orthographised  in  another  language.  They 
are  generally  guttural ;  but  when  not  so,  the  ear  of  a  for- 
eigner cannot  accommodate  itself  to  the  inflection  of  a 
speaker's  voice,  soon  enough  to  catch  the  true  sound.  This 
must  be  done  instantaneously;  and  even  in  a  language 
with  which  we  are  acquainted,  we  are  not  able  to  do  it  for 

*  See  Sparks's  Life  of  Ledyard — a  most  valuable  book. 


20  ON  THE  ORIGIN,  HISTORY,  &c.,  OF  THE 

several  years.  I  seize,  for  instance,  the  accidental  moment 
when  the  savage  is  inclined  to  give  me  the  names  of  things. 
The  medium  of  this  conversation  is  only  signs.  The  sav- 
age may  wish  to  give  me  the  word  for  head  ;  and  lays  his 
hand  on  the  top  of  his  head.  I  am  not  certain  whether  he 
means  the  head,  or  the  top  of  the  head,  or  perhaps,  the  hair 
of  the  head.  He  may  wish  to  say  leg,  and  puts  his  hand 
to  the  calf.  I  cannot  tell  whether  he  means  the  leg,  or  the 
calf;  or  flesh,  or  the  flesh. 

"  There  are  other  difficulties.  The  island  of  Onalaska 
is  on  the  coast  of  America,  opposite  to  Asia.  There  are 
few  traders  on  it.  Being  there  with  Captain  Cook,  I  was 
walking,  one  day,  on  the  shore,  in  company  with  a  native, 
who  spoke  the  Russian  language.  I  did  not  understand  it. 
I  was  writing  the  names  of  several  things,  and  pointed  to 
the  ship,  supposing  he  would  understand  that  I  wanted  the 
name  of  it.  He  answered  me  in  a  phrase,  which,  in  Russ, 
meant — /  know.  I  wrote  down  a  ship.  I  gave  him  some 
snuff,  which  he  took,  and  held  out  his  hand  for  more, 
making  use  of  a  word  which  signified,  in  Russ,  a  little — I 
wrote  more. 

The  claims  of  our  primitive  people  to  an  Asiatic  de- 
scent, are  founded  upon  other  and  stronger  testimony; 
upon  the  general  resemblance  which  they  bear,  in  many 
points  of  character,  manners,  customs,  and  institutions, 
(circumstances  not  easily  changed,  or  easily  mistaken,)  to 
the  various  tribes  occupying  the  great  table-lands  of  Tar- 
tary.  Superadded  to  these,  is  the  color,  which  is  the  same 
in  the  Tartar  and  the  North  American  Indian.  If  black, 
wherever  found,  is  the  sure  evidence  of  the  African,  and 
white  of  the  Caucasian  races,  why  should  not  red,  or  cop- 
per, be  recognized,  wherever  found,  as  indicating  the  pres- 
ence of  the  Tartar  ?  If  no  other  race  known  to  us,  except 
the  African,  are  black,  and  none  except  the  European,  are 
white,  why  should  it  be  thought  incredible  that  red,  where- 
ever  found,  should  designate  the  Tartar  race  ? 


ABORIGINES  OF  NORTH  AMERICA.  21 

But  there  is  another,  and  scarcely  less  striking  resem- 
blance. This  is  to  be  found  in  the  structure  and  form  of 
the  crania  of  both,  and  in  the  conformity  of  the  bones  of 
the  face.  We  see,  in  both,  the  low  and  compressed  fore- 
head— the  same  width  and  prominence  of  the  cheek  bones 
— the  breadth  of  the  jaw,  and  structure  of  the  coronal  and 
occipital  regions,  are  alike,  in  both.  These  resemblances 
are  regarded  as  tests,  not  of  the  identity  of  the  Tartar  and 
the  Indian  races,  only,  but  of  other  races ;  and  they  have 
been  often  and  successfully  referred  to,  after  those  traces 
were  removed  by  decay,  by  which  the  dead  are  ordinarily 
recognized.  On  the  battle-field,  where  men  of  several  na- 
tions, as  at  Waterloo,  have  met,  and  fought,  and  fallen, 
making  one  great  and  mingled  mass  of  English,  and  French, 
and  German,  &c.,  it  has  been  found  no  difficult  matter  to 
arrange  and  classify  the  skulls  of  these  several  nations ;  and 
if  a  Tartar  had  chanced  to  have  fallen  in  that  battle,  there 
would  have  been  even  less  difficulty  in  recognizing  his  cra- 
nium, since  admixtures  have  broken  in  upon,  and  to  a  cer- 
tain extent,  at  least,  given  a  more  general  uniformity  to 
the  rest.  When  the  skull  of  the  red  man  of  Tartary  is 
placed  beside  that  of  the  red  man  of  America — both  being 
genuine — they  are  found  in  all  things  to  correspond,  with 
disagreements  nowhere ;  and  to  be,  at  the  same  time,  un- 
like those  of  the  natives  of  both  Europe  and  Africa. 
Would  it  not  be  a  departure  from  our  customary  methods 
of  arriving  at  conclusions  upon  other  matters,  where  com- 
parison is  the  test,  to  doubt  the  common  origin  of  the  Tar- 
tar and  the  Indian ;  or  to  refuse  our  assent  to  the  position 
I  have  assumed — that  they  belong  to  the  same  common 
stock  ? 

Ledyard  says, "  I  know  of  no  people  among  whom  there 
is  such  a  uniformity  of  features,  (except  the  Chinese,  the 
Jews,  and  the  Negroes,)  as  among  the  Asiatic  Tartars — 
(this  remark  applies  with  equal  truth  to  our  Indians.) 
They  are  distinguished,  indeed,  by  different  tribes,  but  this 


22  ON  THE   ORIGIN,  HISTORY,  &c.,  OF  THE 

is  only  nominal.  Nature  has  not  acknowledged  the  dis- 
tinction ;  but  on  the  contrary,  marked  them,  wherever  found, 
with  the  indisputable  stamp  of  Tartars.  Whether  in  Nova 
Zembla,  Mongolia,  Greenland,  or  on  the  banks  of  the  Mis- 
sissippi, they  are  the  same  people,  forming  the  most  nume- 
rous, and,  if  we  must  except  the  Chinese,  the  most  ancient 
nation  on  the  globe.  But  I,  for  myself,"  continues  Led- 
yard, "  do  not  except  the  Chinese,  because  I  have  no  doubt 
of  their  being  the  same  family."  Again  he  says,  in  a  letter 
addressed  to  Mr.  Jefferson,  "  I  am  certain  that  all  the  peo- 
ple on  the  continent  of  America,  and  on  the  continents  of 
Europe  and  Asia,  as  far  south  as  the  southern  parts  of 
China,  are  all  one  people,  by  whatever  names  distinguished, 
and  that  the  best  general  name  would  be  Tartar.  I  sus- 
pect that  all  red  people  are  of  the  same  family.  I  am  sat- 
isfied that  America  was  peopled  from  Asia,  and  had  some, 
if  not  all,  its  animals  from  thence."  But  this  distinguished 
traveller  does  not  confine  himself  to  opinions,  but  produces 
a  number  of  proofs,  all  going  to  show  the  identity  of  the 
North  American  Indian  with  the  Tartar  race.  I  have  time 
to  notice  only  a  few  of  these — for  it  forms  no  part  of  my 
plan,  further  than  I  may  deem  it  necessary,  to  deal  in  de- 
tails. Ledyard  says,  that  in  his  route  to  Kazan,  he  saw 
large  mounds  of  earth,  often  of  twenty,  thirty,  and  forty 
feet  elevation,  which  he  conjectured,  and  found  to  be,  on 
inquiry,  ancient  sepulchres.  "There  is,"  he  continues, 
an  analogy  between  these  and  our  own  graves,  and  the 
Egyptian  Pyramids,  and  an  exact  resemblance  between  them 
and  those  piles,  supposed  to  be  of  monumental  earth,  which 
are  found  among  some  of  the  tribes  of  North  America." 
I  have  examined  some  of  these  mounds,  which  Ledyard 
says  are  supposed  to  be  of  monumental  earth,  and  found 
them  to  be,  invariably,  depositories  of  the  dead. 

Doctor  Wolf  says,  "  Many  of  their  customs,  besides 
words  in  their  language,  and  their  physiognomy,  rather 
seem  to  betray  a  Tartar  race.  Thus,  for  instance,  they 


ABORIGINES  OF  NORTH  AMERICA.  23 

have  the  word  Kelaun — great — which  is  also  used  in  the 
same  sense  at  Bokhara.  They  have  nine  as  a  favorite 
number,  which  the  Tartars  also  have.  The  Turkomauns 
also  play  on  a  flute,  in  a  melancholy  strain,  around  the 
dwellings  of  their  beloved  mistresses,  and  the  Indians  do 
the  same." 

Another  point  of  resemblance  may  be  traced  in  the  at- 
tachment of  the  Tartar  and  the  Indian  to  the  wigwam. 
"  Offers  have  been  made,"  says  Ledyard,  "  by  the  Crown, 
to  build  the  Yakutes  commodious  and  comfortable  houses, 
with  strong,  superadded  inducements,  for  them  to  occupy 
them ;  among  these  was  freedom  from  the  charge  for  rent. 
But  they  refused  the  offer,  preferring  their  yontees"  which 
answer  to  the  wigwams  of  our  Indians. 

The  same  aversion  to  fixed  habitations  is  seen  in  the  In- 
dians. In  a  failure  to  establish  a  colony  in  Virginia,  the 
settlers  having  been  driven  away  by  the  natives,  there 
were  left  standing  many  comfortable  cabins,  which  it  was 
reasonable  to  suppose  would  have  been  taken  possession 
of  by  the  Indians ;  but  not  so.  On  the  arrival  of  a  new 
colony  sent  over  by  Sir  Walter  Raleigh,  the  year  after — 
in  1587 — these  buildings  were  found  as  they  had  been  left, 
untenanted  and  uninjured,  and  ready,  after  the  weeds  were 
removed  and  the  deer  driven  away,  for  the  accommodation 
of  the  new  comers.  This  having  been  in  the  south, 
where  the  weather  is  comparatively  warm,  it  may  be 
thought  not  very  unreasonable  in  the  Indian  to  prefer,  as  a 
matter  of  superior  comfort,  his  wigwam. 

But  the  same  preference  is  shown  by  the  Indians  of  the 
north.  I  have  known,  as  stated  in  my  memoirs,  excel- 
lent log  houses  put  up  by  our  people  on  the  Fox  river,  in 
Michigan,  for  purposes  connected  with  the  ceremonies  of 
a  treaty,  and  left  standing  after  these  ceremonies  were 
concluded.  In  that  region  of  snows  and  frosts,  we  would 
think  such  shelters  would  prove  highly  acceptable  to  the 
shivering  natives.  But  not  so ;  for  we  had  scarcely  lost 


24  ON  THE  ORIGIN,  HISTORY,  &c.,  OF  THE 

sight  of  the  theatre  of  our  negotiations,  before  the  Indians 
fired  these  buildings,  and  consumed  them.  Like  their  pro- 
genitors, the  Tartars,  they  preferred  their  wigwams.  The 
yonti  of  the  Tartar,  and  the  wigwam  of  the  Indian,  are 
built  after  the  same  fashion,  and  constructed  of  the  same 
materials.  These  are  of  skins,  the  bark  of  trees,  of  grass 
or  mats,  and  sometimes  of  mud. 

They  resemble  each  other,  also,  in  their  improvidence. 
Of  the  Tartars,  Ledyard  says,  "  They  discover  the  same 
indifference  about  accumulating  more,  and  for  the  concerns 
of  to-morrow,  that  a  North  American  Indian  does.  They 
stroll  about  the  village,  and,  if  they  can,  get  drunk,  smoke 
their  pipe,  or  go  to  sleep." 

It  is  not  possible  for  a  comparison  to  be  more  perfect ; 
its  exact  similitude  will  be  recognized  by  all  who  have 
visited  our  border  towns  and  villages,  that  are  resorted  to 
by  our  Indians.  Their  moccasins  are  also  alike ;  and  wam- 
pum is  prized  by  both,  and  is  employed  to  hand  down 
traditions  by  both.  The  Tartar,  sometimes,  works  his 
up  into  the  initials  of  his  name,  and  ornaments  with  it  the 
borders  of  his  garments.  The  Indian  employs  the  same 
material  in  ornamenting  his  garments,  also,  wears  it  in 
strings  about  his  neck,  dangles  it  from  his  ears,  works  it 
up  on  his  belts  into  forms,  though  not  of  letters,  that  can  be 
read  from  generation  to  generation. 

I  have  recorded  and  published  a  remarkable  illustration 
of  this — which  I  take  the  liberty  to  repeat  on  this  occa- 
sion. It  has  been  stated  by  Mr.  Stickney,  an  intelligent 
observer,  well  acquainted  with  the  Indians,  (having  been 
formerly  Indian  agent  at  Fort  Wayne)  that  he  once  saw 
a  very  ancient  belt  among  the  Wyandots,  which  they  told 
him  had  come  from  a  large  Indian  nation,  in  the  south- 
west. At  the  time  of  its  reception,  as  ever  since,  the 
Wyandots  were  the  leading  tribe  in  this  quarter  of  the 
continent.  Placed  at  the  head  of  the  great  Indian  com- 
monwealth, by  circumstances  which  even  their  tradition 


ABORIGINES  OF  NORTH  AMERICA.  25 

does  not  record,  they  held  the  great  council-fire,  and  pos- 
sessed the  right  of  convening  the  various  tribes  around  it, 
whenever  any  important  occurrence  required  general  deli- 
beration. This  belt  had  been  specially  transmitted  to 
them ;  and,  from  the  attendant  circumstances,  and  accom- 
panying narrative,  Mr.  Stickney  had  no  doubt  it  was  sent 
by  the  Mexican  emperor,  at  the  period  of  the  invasion  of 
that  country,  by  Cortez.  The  speech  stated,  in  substance, 
that  a  new  and  strange  animal  had  appeared  upon  the 
coast,  describing  him  like  the  fabled  Centaurs  of  antiquity, 
as  part  man,  and  part  quadruped ;  and  adding,  that  he  com- 
manded the  thunder  and  lightning.  The  object  seemed  to 
be,  to  put  the  Indians  on  their  guard  against  this  terrible 
monster,  whenever  he  might  appear. 

Could  a  collection  of  these  ancient  belts  be  now  made, 
and  the  accompanying  narratives  recorded,  it  would  afford 
curious  and  interesting  materials,  reflecting,  no  doubt, 
much  light  upon  the  former  situation  and  history  of  the 
Indians.  But  it  is  vain  to  expect  such  a  discovery.  In 
the  mutations  and  migrations  of  the  various  tribes,  mis- 
fortunes have  pressed  so  heavily  upon  them,  that  they  have 
been  unable  to  preserve  their  people  or  their  country, 
much  less  the  memorials  of  their  former  power.  These 
have  perished  in  the  general  wreck  of  their  fortunes — lost, 
as  have  been  the  sites  of  their  council-fires,  and  the  graves 
of  their  fathers. 

But  further,  on  the  subject  of  comparison.  A  highly 
important  matter  with  both,  is,  to  have,  well-defined,  the 
limits  of  their  hunting  grounds ;  and  nothing  leads  so  di- 
rectly to  conflicts,  as  encroachments,  by  tribes  or  hunting 
parties,  upon  these  ascertained  limits. 

The  Tartars  are  a  roving  people ;  so  are  the  Indians. 
They  both  believe  in  the  existence  of  one  great  and  good 
spirit,  and  that  from  him  they  receive  everything  that  is 
good ;  and  in  the  existence,  also,  of  a  bad  spirit,  of  whom 
comes  all  that  they  suffer.  To  this  bad  spirit,  they  offer 

VOL.  n.  4 


26  ON  THE   ORIGIN,  HISTORY,  &c.,  OF  THE 

sacrifice,  and  under  various  forms  deprecate  his  wrath. 
Some  of  these,  the  sacrifice  of  the  Wabana,  for  example, 
are  so  demoniac  in  their  manifestations,  that  a  stranger 
might  be  easily  tempted  to  believe  his  Satanic  majesty 
was  himself  present,  directing  and  governing  the  semi- 
infernal  ritual. 

Among  those  who  have  made  diligent  search  after  ma- 
terials for  the  ascertainment  of  the  origin  of  the  Indians, 
was  Du  Pratz.  The  great  theatre  of  his  investigations 
was  among  the  tribes  of  the  southwest.  All  he  could 
gather  from  their  traditions  or  otherwise,  was,  that  they 
had  come  "  from  between  the  north  and  where  the  sun 
sets."  This  was  their  tradition  then,  and  to  it  they  ad- 
here. It  was  during  his  researches  in  that  quarter,  that 
he  fell  in  with  the  famous  Yazoo  chief,  Mon-Catchape,  who 
had  himself  been  in  search  of  like  materials.  To  know 
his  origin,  and  the  origin  of  his  race,  was,  to  Mon-Catchape, 
an  all-absorbing  feeling.  Five  years  were  spent  by  this 
chief,  in  travels,  in  pursuit  of  this  knowledge.  His  first  move 
was  to  visit  the  Chickasaws,  of  whom  the  Yazoos  inher- 
ited their  language ;  and  who,  for  that  reason,  were  look- 
ed upon  as  the  elders  of  their  tribe.  Finding  nothing  sat- 
isfactory there,  he  made  for  the  country  of  the  Chaoua- 
noes,  thence  up  the  Ohio,  and  onward  till  he  reached  that 
occupied  by  the  Iroquois.  There  he  took  an  old  Indian 
for  his  guide,  and  travelled  towards  sunrise,  till  he  came 
to  what  is  called  "  the  great  water."  The  noise  of  the 
billows,  and  the  coming  in  and  going  out  of  the  tide, 
greatly  alarmed  him ;  but  on  being  assured  that  they  could 
not  pass  the  barriers  assigned  by  the  Great  Spirit,  to  keep 
them  from  overflowing  the  land,  he  became  satisfied. 
This  great  water,  doubtless,  was  the  Atlantic  ocean. 

Returning  from  the  sea-board,  he  wintered  among  the 
Wabanackies — which  means  Indians  of  the  East.  Thence 
he  made  his  way  to  the  St.  Lawrence,  and  to  Niagara. 
The  sight  of  this  great  cataract,  he  told  Du  Pratz,  "  made 


ABORIGINES  OF  NORTH  AMERICA.  27 

his  hair  stand  on  end,  and  his  heart  almost  leap  out  of  its 
place."  Before  quitting  it,  however,  he  mustered  sufficient 
courage  to  walk  under  it.  Without  following  this  chief 
in  his  wanderings,  suffice  it  to  say,  he  continued  on,  reach- 
ed the  Missouri,  visited  the  Missouri,  Kansas,  and  other 
bands — and  passing  on,  joined  himself  to  those  who  lived 
more  westward  on  the  coast,  and  with  these  he  "  travelled 
along  the  shore  of  the  great  water,  (the  Pacific,  doubt- 
less,) which  bends  directly  between  the  north  and  setting 
sun."  Here  he  found  the  days  very  long,  and  the  nights 
very  short ;  and  here  the  old  men  persuaded  him  to  give 
over  all  thoughts  of  continuing  his  journey. 

From  these  old  men  he  learned  that  "  the  land  extended 
still  a  long  way  in  a  direction  between  the  north  and  the 
setting  sun ;  after  which  it  ran  directly  west,  till  it  was  cut 
by  the  great  water  from  north  to  south."  One  of  these 
old  men  added,  when  he  was  young,  he  knew  a  very 
old  man,  who  had  seen  that  distant  land  before  it  was  cut 
away  by  the  great  water ;  and  that  when  the  great  water 
was  low,  many  rocks  still  appeared  in  those  parts.  Mon- 
Catchape  finding  it  impossible,  owing  to  the  severity  of  the 
weather  and  the  absence  of  game,  to  proceed  farther,  re- 
turned home  by  the  route  he  had  travelled  in  going  out. 
This  account,  (the  entire  details  of  which  are  very  inte- 
resting,) satisfied  Du  Pratz  that  the  Indians  came  from  the 
continent  of  Asia  by  the  way  of  Behring's  Straits. 

I  find  I  have  anticipated  the  question,  "  Whence  came 
the  Indians  ?"  But  when,  and  by  what  route  was  their 
Exodus  from  the  land  of  their  origin,  to  this  in  which  our 
progenitors  found  them  ?  That  period,  and  that  route,  can 
never  be  known  !  Time,  "  the  grave  of  all  things,"  has 
closed  upon  the  answer  to  these  questions,  and  shut  it 
up  in  endless  night.  Nobody  knows,  nor  will  anybody 
ever  know,  when  the  Exodus  of  our  Indians  was  begun,  or 
when  it  was  ended.  Whether,  like  the  Israelites,  they 
were  forty  years  in  a  wilderness,  led  off  by  some  Moses, 


28  ON  THE   ORIGIN,  HISTORY,  &c.,  OF  THE 

from  the  cruel  exactions  of  some  Pharaoh ;  or  were  stung, 
any  of  them,  by  flying  fiery  serpents ;  or  were  fed  by  the 
way  on  manna ;  or  clung  to  their  flesh-pots ;  or  were  re- 
freshed by  water  made  to  gush  from  the  rock  by  miracu- 
lous agency ;  or  whether  they  wandered  hither  in  pairs,  or 
by  tribes,  or  bands,  to  where  the  waters  divided  this  con- 
tinent from  theirs ;  and  whether  they  crossed  upon  ice,  or 
were  driven  over  by  some  storm,  in  rude  vessels,  or  sought 
the  passage  by  design — all,  all  is  buried  from  our  view,  and 
forever  !  Not  a  trace  remains  by  which  we  can  be  guided 
into  anything  more  than  a  plausible  theory ;  and  by  means 
of  it,  if  not  to  a  satisfactory,  perhaps  to  some  acceptable 
conclusion. 

It  is  not  unreasonable  to  presume  that  nothing  was 
known  of  this  continent,  and  nothing  of  its  resources,  by 
these  Tartar  rovers,  previous  to  the  time  of  crossing  the 
strait ;  or,  if  the  crossing  was  by  design,  and  with  a  know- 
ledge of  the  continent  and  its  resources,  it  was  to  ascertain 
whether  game  abounded,  and  fish  were  plenty ;  or,  they 
might  have  been  forced  over  by  the  scourge  of  persecution, 
as  were  the  pilgrim  fathers ;  or,  as  were  the  ancient  Is- 
raelites, to  avoid  the  pursuit  and  exactions  of  some  Tartar 
Pharaoh.  It  is  by  no  means  unreasonable  to  suppose  that 
there  was  not  any,  or  if  any,  but  a  very  narrow  crossing 
to  be  made.  The  more  enlightened  opinion  is,  that  there 
was  a  connexion,  by  means  of  an  isthmus,  and  that  at  the 
period  of  which  I  am  speaking,  Asia  and  America,  as  they 
are  now  known,  formed  one  undivided  portion  of  the  globe, 
and  the  report  of  Mon-Catchape  to  Du  Pratz  would  seem 
to  favor  this  theory.  If  what  is  now  a  strait  of  only  about 
forty  miles  wide,  was,  not  over  three  hundred  and  fifty 
years  ago,  a  passage  in  which,  at  low  water,  many  rocks 
were  visible,  the  conclusion  would  seem  to  be  reasonable 
that  the  two  continents  were  once  united.  We  err,  in  my 
opinion,  in  compressing  the  events  touching  the  peopling 
of  this  continent  in  too  narrow  a  compass  of  time ;  as  we 


ABORIGINES  OF  NORTH  AMERICA.  39 

do,  also,  in  supposing,  as  we  are  apt  to  do,  that  straits  and 
water-falls  have  always  been  where  they  now  are.  How 
many  are  there,  who,  on  beholding  the  Falls  of  Niagara, 
suppose  them  to  have  been  always  where  they  now  are  ? 
And  yet  how  evident,  upon  the  slightest  examination,  are 
the  proofs  to  the  contrary.  The  changes  upon  the  face  of 
the  globe  are  as  various  as  they  are  endless. 

In  what  numbers  they  came,  or  how  long  they  continued 
to  cross  over,  we  know  nothing.  The  high  probability  is, 
the  crossing  was  accidental,*  and  by  a  few,  who,  having 

*  Storms  have,  doubtless,  been  instrumental,  from  the  earliest  ages,  in  peopling 
islands  in  every  part  of  the  ocean.  It  is  not  improbable  that  this  continent  owes 
the  advent  of  its  Tartar  population  to  their  agency.  During  my  official  connex- 
ion with  the  government,  as  Chief  of  the  Bureau  of  Indian  Affairs,  news  reached 
me  that  a  party  of  Indians  had  arrived  in  Washington,  and  that  they  had  found 
their  way  to  the  city  by  the  route  of  the  Potomac.  I  directed  my  informant  to 
send  or  bring  them  to  my  office.  They  came.  There  were  five  of  them.  To  the 
questions — To  what  tribe  did  they  belong  ?  and  what  business  had  brought  them 
to  Washington  ?  I  was  answered,  that  they  "  belonged  to  the  Quoddy  tribe,  away 
down  towards  sunrise,  where  the  land  stops,  in  the  East ;"  meaning  the  neigh- 
borhood of  Eastport,  in  Maine.  Their  visit  to  Washington,  they  said,  was  very 
unexpected  to  them ;  and  they  had  reached  there  without  any  power  of  control 
over  their  movements.  It  seems  the  party  had  gone  out  in  two  bark  canoes  to 
shoot  porpoises — and  while  away  off  from  land,  a  storm  came  on,  that  forced  them 
far  out  to  sea.  It  continued  to  blow  for  two  or  three  days  and  nights ;  when,  at 
last,  a  vessel  hove  in  sight.  By  the  aid  of  their  paddles,  with  something  white 
attached  to  them,  they  attracted  the  attention  of  the  crew,  when  the  vessel  tacked 
and  came  to  them,  taking  them  on  board.  They  were  then  off  the  capes  of  Vir- 
ginia. The  two  canoes  kept  within  sight  of  each  other  all  the  time,  when  there 
was  daylight  to  see  one  another ;  but  at  night,  each  was  left  ignorant  of  the  fate 
of  the  other. 

The  principal  was  DEACON  SOCKBASIN,  who  spoke  English  tolerably  well,  and 
could  write  also  with  sufficient  accuracy  to  make  known  what  he  had  to  say,  on 
paper.  His  name  had  been  made  familiar  to  me  by  various  communications  bear- 
ing hi&  signature,  on  matters  relating  to  their  school. 

Their  wants  were  supplied,  and  the  means  given  them  to  bear  their  expenses 
home.  One  of  the  canoes — the  other  having  been  injured — I  had  brought  to  the 
War  Department,  and  hung  up  in  the  passage,  over  the  door  of  my  office,  where  it 
remained  till  the  Indian  portraits  and  other  relics  which  I  had  collected  there, 
were  sent  to  the  Columbian  Institute,  with  the  canoe,  where  the  latter  yet  remains 
to  attest  in  how  frail  a  vessel  human  beings  may  be  driven  by  a  storm,  upon  the 
ocean,  for  at  least  one  thousand  miles. 

If  this  party  of  Quoddy  Indians  could  survive  such  a  storm  as  Sockbasin  de- 
scribed that  to  be  which  drove  him  and  his  party  from  off  Eastport,  in  Maine,  to 


30  ON   THE  ORIGIN,  HISTORY,  dec.,  OF  THE 

passed  over,  returned  and  reported  what  they  had  discov- 
ered to  their  countrymen,  when  everything  having  been 
found  to  be  abundant,  and  in  accordance  with  their  wants 
and  tastes,  colony  after  colony  came  over,  until  the  Tartar 
hordes  were  drained  of  their  most  adventurous,  and  dar- 
ing, and  restless  associates. 

And  now,  having  made  the  crossing,  (whether  upon  what 
was  then  an  isthmus,  or  across  what  is  now  a  strait,  is  im- 
material,) they  spread  themselves  over  the  country,  under 
the  impulse  of  their  natural  habits,  as  well  as  for  the  sake 
of  freedom  from  the  pressure  of  those  in  their  rear,  as  to 
find  retreats  where  the  game  was  most  plenty,  and  fish 
were  most  easily  taken ;  whilst  the  game,  doubtless,  with 
the  instinct  common  to  all  animals,  retired  before  the  ad- 
vances of  the  invaders.  It  is  characteristic  of  the  Indian 
to  go  where  he  can  get  what  he  wants  with  the  least  trou- 
ble ;  but  in  this  he  only  shows  himself  to  be  in  close  alli- 
ance with  his  intellectually  and  morally  elevated  pale-faced 
brother ;  for,  after  all,  it  is  not  more  true  of  man  that  he 
is  an  imitative,  than  that  he  is  an  indolent  animal. 

the  capes  of  Virginia,  it  is  not  unreasonable  to  conclude  that  other  adventurers  on 
the  deep  blue  sea  may  have,  in  all  times,  been  subject  to  like  transitions,  and  by 
the  same  cause.  In  this  way,  as  I  have  said,  this  continent  may  have  had  thrown 
upon  it  the  progenitors  of  the  Indian  race. 


ABORIGINES  OF  NORTH  AMERICA.  31 


PART    II 

CONDITION,  CHARACTER  AND  CUSTOMS  OF  THE  INDIAN 
RACES.  REMARKABLE  ANCIENT  WORKS  OF  ART.  BY 
WHOM  BUILT.  THEIR  FATE,  AND  THAT  OF  THEIR  CON- 
QUERORS. 

Aspect  of  the  country  on  the  advent  of  the  Indians — The  varied  destiny  that 
awaited  them — Their  simple  habits — Their  ignorance — The  degraded  condition 
of  their  women — Their  increase  and  division  into  tribes — Present  races  of  Indi- 
ans not  the  first  occupants  of  America — Discoveries  of  the  Northmen — Re- 
markable remains  of  fortifications,  mounds,  &c. — Extent  of  these  works  at 
Camillus,  Marietta,  &c. — Great  age  of  these  works — Absence  of  tradition 
respecting  them — Improbability  that  the  present  races  constructed  them — 
Theirs  was  scarcely  more  than  a  physical  existence — No  culture — No  ad- 
vance for  ages — Works  of  ancient  Greeks,  Romans,  Egyptians,  considered — 
Further  notice  of  the  Northmen — These  works  not  constructed  by  them — 
They  were  erected  by  ancient  Mexicans  or  Peruvians — Resemblance  in  form 
and  use  to  works  of  those  nations — They  were  not  the  progenitors  of  the  pre- 
sent Mexicans,  but  an  extinct  race — Dr.  Warren's  collection  of  skulls — Combe 
— Further  speculations  upon  this  theory — Warlike  character  of  Indians — A 
Chippewa  war-song — Cause  of  the  division  into  tribes  and  confederacies — 
Great  numbers  of  the  Indians — Devastating  effects  of  their  wars — The  ac- 
companiments of  European  civilization  still  more  desolating — Obligations  of 
Americans  to  arrest  these  destroying  influences. 

HAVING  now  (in  accordance  with  this  theory,  at  least,) 
fairly  landed  the  Indian  upon  this  continent,  and  offer- 
ed a  few  brief  reasons  in  support  of  my  opinions  that 
he  is  of  Tartar  origin,  and  glanced  at  the  probable  route 
he  took  in  getting  here ;  it  may  be  well  to  pause  awhile, 
and  contemplate  the  scenes  by  which  he  found  himself 
surrounded  in  this  new  world,  and  himself  moving  in  their 
midst. 

Upon  what  a  theatre  had  the  red  man  now  entered ! 
How  full  of  varied  interests,  henceforth,  was  to  be  his 


32  ON  THE  ORIGIN,  HISTORY,  &c.,  OF  THE 

destiny !  Could  he  have  run  his  eye  down  the  vista  of 
time,  and  seen  only  a  part  of  what  his  race  was  doomed 
to  suffer,  he  would  have  turned  from  the  terrible  pros- 
pect, and  with  his  bands,  recrossed  the  strait,  though 
tasks,  and  stripes,  and  even  death,  awaited  him !  Better, 
he  would  have  reasoned,  better  to  die  at  home,  and  among 
kindred  and  friends,  and  be  covered  with  the  same  turf 
that  rests  upon  the  remains  of  my  fathers,  than  to  be  made 
wretched  in  a  distant  land,  and  die  there  an  outcast !  How 
merciful  is  that  provision  of  our  Creator,  that  shuts  the 
future  from  our  view ! 

The  Indian  saw  nothing  of  all  that  was  to  befall  his  race ; 
and  so  onward  he  came.  Above  him,  was  the  same  sun 
that  now  daily  shines,  and  had  shone  for  ages  before,  and 
that  blesses  all  it  shines  upon.  And  there  was  the  same 
moon,  upon  whose  silvery  face  he  had  so  often  vacantly  ga- 
zed, in  the  land  he  had  left ;  and  there,  also,  were  the  same 
stars.  "  The  Seven  Stars,  and  Orion,"  were  there ;  and 
there  was  the  Galaxy,  and  there  the  Aurora  Borealis — the 
first,  as  now,  looked  upon  by  him  as  the  path  of  the 
ghosts ;  the  last,  as  the  graceful  evolutions  of  dancing 
spirits.  The  lightning's  flash  illumined  the  heaven,  and 
the  thunder  uttered  its  voice.  The  ocean  was  the  same 
as  now — lifted  into  billows  by  the  storm,  or  sunk  to  rest 
in  the  calm,  as  if  to  gather  strength  from  its  repose  for 
some  fresh  onset  upon  the  boundaries  that  had  been  fixed, 
and  beyond  which,  the  mandate  of  the  Eternal  had  gone 
forth,  forbidding  it  to  pass.  And  there  were  the  forests, 
time-worn,  and  moss-grown — wild,  tangled,  interminable — 
furnishing  shelter,  by  excluding  the  sun's  rays,  for  winter, 
where  he  lay  concealed  in  his  magazine  of  snows.  The 
vernal  year  came  then,  as  now,  breathing  its  violet  breath 
upon  the  desert  air,  where  it  was  wasted.  Wild  flowers 
bloomed,  and  the  valleys  were  everywhere  clothed  with 
"  the  livery  nature  delights  to  wear."  Upon  every  hill- 
side, animals  browsed  and  reposed.  And  there  were  the 


ABORIGINES  OF  NORTH  AMERICA.  33 

mountains — rocky  and  barren,  crowned  as  now,  with  pine, 
and  spruce,  and  hemlock ;  amidst  which  the  aspen's  leaves 
quivered,  as  the  breeze  played  upon,  and  among  them. 

BUT  THERE  WAS  NO  SABBATH  THERE  ! 

Amidst  all  this  grandeur  and  magnificence  of  earth,  and 
sky,  and  ocean,  roamed  those  emigrant  Tartar  bands — 
the  progenitors  of  the  Indian  race.  It  was  cause  of  no 
gratulation  to  them,  nor  did  they  profit  by  it,  that  the 
earth  was  full  of  germinating  stores,  the  richest  and  most 
varied ;  nor  was  it  perceived  that  it  was  waiting  in  gentle 
and  sweet  repose,  for  the  direction  of  the  appropriate  in- 
telligence, for  the  "  seed  time,  and  the  harvest."  Nor  did 
they  dream  that  the  plough  was  destined  to  open  its  teem- 
ing bosom,  and  "  side-long  turn  the  glebe."  Nor  was  the 
value  of  the  refreshing  rains  and  fertilizing  dews  compre- 
hended. So  far  as  the  cultivated  fruits  of  the  earth  were 
concerned,  these  enriching  treasures  fell  in  vain. 

Confined  within  the  narrow  limits  of  his  wants — and 
these  were  supplied  by  game  and  fish — the  skins  of  the 
former  serving  for  garments,  the  Indian  comprehended 
nothing  of  all  this  lavish  economy.  No  light,  direct  or 
reflected,  had  shone,  except  only  in  faint  and  confused 
glimmerings  upon  this  book  of  nature ;  nor  were  his  eyes 
instructed  to  read  its  glorious  contents.  Not  one  ray  of 
that  blessed  light  which  comes  from  the  Gospel,  bringing 
with  it  "  life  and  immortality"  had  penetrated  the  darkness 
that  brooded  over  his  mind,  wrapping  the  future  in  such 
dismal  and  appalling  mystery  ! 

Onward,  and  yet  onward,  moved  the  bands,  clothed  in 
winter  in  the  skins  of  beasts,  and  in  summer  free  from  all 
such  encumbrance.  The  earth  was  their  mother,  and 
upon  its  lap  they  reposed.  Rude  wigwams  sheltered 
them.  Hunger  and  thirst  satisfied,  sleep  followed — and 
within  this  circle  was  contained  the  happiness  of  the  abo- 
riginal man.  True,  within  it  was  his  squaw — and  there, 
too,  were  his  papooses.  Alas !  then,  as  now,  her  shoul- 

VOL.  n.  5 


34  ON  THE   ORIGIN,  HISTORY,  &c.,  OF  THE 

ders  were  made  to  bear  the  weight,  and  her  hands  to  per- 
form the  drudgery  of  the  domestic  labor.  She  put  up  and 
took  down  the  wigwam,  and  with  stone  axes  cut  the 
wood,  kindled  the  fire,  skinned,  cut  up,  and  cooked  the 
meat.  Her  lord  having  partaken  of  the  food,  retired,  if  in 
warm  weather,  to  some  shade  hard  by,  where  he  spread 
himself  out  and  smoked,  and  slept.  If  in  cold  weather,  he 
would  turn  from  the  bark  bowl,  or  rude  earthen  vessel,  in 
which  the  food  was  served  up,  out  of  which,  with  his  fin- 
gers, he  had  fed  himself,  into  some  part  of  the  wigwam 
where  the  fire  was  warmest,  and  smoke  and  sleep  there. 
Meantime,  she,  in  quiet  and  subdued  silence,  made  her 
meal — the  papooses  and  dogs  sharing  it  with  her. 

The  beauty  and  graces  of  the  sex  had  not  then  shone 
forth.  These  are  produced,  only,  by  those  spring-time- 
like  influences  that  come  over  her  gently,  affectionately, 
fondly.  This  happy  state  was  reserved  for  the  refinements 
of  civilization,  and  the  influences  of  the  Gospel.  Show 
me  anywhere,  and  among  any  people,  no  matter  where 
situated,  or  by  what  name  called,  a  disregard  for  woman, 
a  lack  of  tenderness  towards  her,  and  of  affection  for  her, 
and  I  will  show  you  a  comparatively  savage  people.  But 
show  me  by  whom  she  is  regarded,  protected,  cherished, 
honored,  loved,  and  I  will  show  you  the  representative  of 
civilization,  refinement,  and  Christianity. 

It  was,  as  I  have  stated,  amidst  all  this  display  of  na- 
ture, and  thus  living,  and  thus  feeling,  that  these  uneduca- 
ted and  rude  people — these  emigrant  Tartar  bands — roamed. 
The  fish  and  game  upon  which  they  subsisted  being  abun- 
dant, they  no  doubt  greatly  multiplied ;  for,  as  yet,  wars 
had  not  been  waged,  nor  was  the  peace  of  their  new  home 
interrupted  by  collisions,  or  intrusions  of  any  kind. 

But  this  abundant,  and  tranquil,  and  prosperous  condi- 
tion, was  destined  to  be  changed ;  and  this  calm  to  be  fol- 
lowed by  a  storm.  How  long  their  state  of  repose  lasted, 
there  are  no  means  of  ascertaining — but  it  was  long 


ABORIGINES  OF  NORTH  AMERICA.  35 

enough,  doubtless,  for  them  to  have  become  formidable  in 
numbers,  and  even  terrible  in  power.  Here  they  were, 
spread  over  immense  portions  of  the  territory,  and  in  multi- 
tudes which  it  may  have  required  ages  to  produce ;  and  whilst 
pushing  their  population  onward,  and  when  the  continent 
itself  seemed  just  within  their  grasp,  they  were  suddenly 
surprised  by  the  presence  of  a  race  that  had  preceded 
them  in  the  occupancy  of  the  country.  To  a  people  who 
had  been  so  long  accustomed  to  the  unmolested  posses- 
sion of  a  home,  and  to  the  enjoyment  of  boundless  liberty, 
and  unobstructed  freedom,  the  sudden  uprising  of  a  power 
like  this,  produced  in  them  that  sort  of  rebound  which  the 
billow  makes,  when  it  rolls,  in  all  its  storm-impelled  force, 
upon  some  ocean-rock. 


"  Violence  can  never  longer  sleep, 

Than  human  passions  please.     In  every  heart 
Are  sown  the  sparks  that  kindle  fiery  war — 
Occasion  needs  but  fan  them,  and  they  blaze." 

Here,  then,  was  the  occasion,  and  here  the  breeze  that 
fanned. 

It  is  not  difficult  to  fancy,  under  such  circumstances,  the 
state  of  excitement  into  which  those  hitherto  "  monarchs 
of  all  they  surveyed,"  were  thrown.  Runners  were,  doubt- 
less, despatched  in  all  directions,  to  convey  the  astounding 
intelligence  to  the  widely  scattered  bands,  and  to  summon 
the  head  men  into  council,  to  contrive  some  plan  for  the 
general  security,  and  for  an  onset  upon  the  new  power ; 
whilst  upon  the  other  hand  the  opposite  party  were  no 
less  busy  in  making  preparations  to  defend  and  maintain 
their  hitherto  undisputed  right  to  their  possessions ;  when, 
as  was  most  natural,  a  bloody  and  exterminating  war  fol- 
lowed. 

This  was  not  the  ordinary  excitement  growing  out  of 
trespasses  upon  the  limits  of  hunting  grounds,  (and  yet 
these  have  been  known  to  continue  for  more  than  a  hun- 
dred years,)  but  of  a  trespass  upon  country,  and  home, 


36  ON  THE   ORIGIN,  HISTORY,  &c.,  OF  THE 

and  liberty.  It  was  an  invasion  of  the  whole ;  and  to  be 
passive,  would  be  to  surrender  all.  It  was  the  Tartar 
power,  upon  the  one  hand,  against  a  new,  a  formidable,  but 
unknown  power,  on  the  other ;  and  this  was  not  more  nat- 
ural than  it  was,  as  we  may  well  suppose,  in  accordance 
with  the  spirit  of  that  fierce,  and  rude,  and  barbarous  age. 

But  who  were  the  people,  you  have  already  silently  in- 
quired, that  were  thus  met  by  the  ancestors  of  our  Indians, 
in  that  remote  period,  and  who  had  preceded  them  in  the 
occupancy  of  this  country  ?  I  may  not  satisfy  you,  in  the 
answer  I  am  about  to  give  to  this  question,  by  DEMON- 
STRATING who  these  people  were ;  but  that  such  a  race  did 
exist,  and  were  in  the  occupancy  of  this  country  prior  to 
the  coming  into  it  of  the  present  race  of  Indians,  I  have 
not  the  shadow  of  a  doubt ;  and  this,  I  think,  I  shall  make 
plain  to  you  in  the  sequel. 

It  is  a  well  authenticated  historical  fact,  that  the  Danes 
and  Normans  visited  this  continent  five  hundred  years  be- 
fore Columbus  put  foot  upon  it ;  and  that "  they  had  pushed 
their  way  from  Iceland  and  Greenland  to  where  the  climate 
was  very  temperate,  the  soil  fruitful  in  pasturage,  and  to  a 
river,  in  which  they  anchored,  the  waters  of  which  were 
full  of  the  largest  salmon  they  had  ever  seen,  and  where 
the  days  were  nearer  of  an  equal  length  than  in  Greenland 
or  Iceland  ;  and  when  they  were  at  the  shortest,  the  sun 
rose  at  half-past  seven,  and  set  at  half-past  four."  "  Sup- 
posing," says  Wheaton,  the  historian,  in  a  note  to  this  pas- 
sage, "  this  computation  to  be  correct,  they  must  have 
been  in  the  latitude  of  Boston,  the  present  capital  of  New 
England." 

It  would  be  a  departure  from  all  precedent,  if  these 
Northmen,  after  having  arrived  in  such  waters,  surrounded 
by  such  a  country,  and  witnessing  for  themselves  the  su- 
perior and  abundant  productions  of  both  land  and  sea,  and 
feeling  the  genial  temperature  of  the  climate  to  be,  in  com- 
parison with  their  own,  a  paradise,  should  have  been  con- 


ABORIGINES  OF  NORTH  AMERICA.  37 

tent  with  planting  colonies,  only,  and  leaving  them,  without 
making  them  permanent,  to  remain  in  all  time  a  source  of 
aggrandizement  to  their  country,  and  a  monument  to  their 
fame.  Be  this  as  it  may,  few  things  are  more  certain,  than 
that  this  country  was  inhabited  by  a  race,  prior  to  the 
coming  into  it  of  those  from  whom  the  present  race  of  In- 
dians are  descended  ;  (and,  in  all  probability,  ages  before  it 
was  visited  by  the  Northmen ;)  and  that  that  race  was  ad- 
vanced in  civilization  and  the  arts,  especially  in  the  art  of 
fortification, 

We  have  ample  and  enduring  proof  of  this,  in  the  mon- 
uments which  remain,  that  those  who  built  them  had  their 
"  origin  from  nations  of  great  cultivation."  Bradford,  on 
American  Antiquities,  says,  "  Many  of  these  ancient  re- 
mains indicate  great  elegance  of  taste,  and  a  high  degree 
of  dexterous  workmanship  and  mechanical  skill  in  their 
construction ;  while  the  size  and  extent  of  the  fortifications 
and  mounds  demonstrate  the  former  existence  of  populous 
nations,  capable  of  executing  works  of  enormous  dimen- 
sions, requiring  perseverance,  time,  and  combination  of 
labor,  for  their  erection."  Reference  is  had  here  to  those 
fortifications  and  places  of  security  and  defence,  the 
remains  of  which  are  to  be  met  with  from  the  lakes  to 
Florida.  These  works,  the  product  of  the  skill  and  labor 
of  the  most  experienced  engineers,  could  never,  I  assume, 
have  been  the  work  of  our  Indians,  since  it  is  scarcely 
possible,  if  they  had  ever  possessed  the  art,  for  them  so 
entirely  to  have  lost  it. 

Some  idea  of  the  nature  and  extent  of  these  works,  and 
of  the  science,  and  skill,  and  labor  that  were  employed  in 
their  construction,  may  be  formed,  by  a  reference  to  a  few 
of  them. 

"  In  Onondaga  county,  (New  York,)  are  the  remains  of 
one  of  these  fortified  towns,  containing  over  Jive  hundred 
acres.  The  form  is  that  of  three  elliptical  forts,  disposed 
in  a  triangle ;  and  distant  from  each  other,  about  eight 


38  ON  THE  ORIGIN,  HISTORY,  &c.,  OF  THE 

miles,  were  the  outworks."  "  At  Camillus,  in  the  same 
county,  there  were,  only  a  few  years  since,  two  elliptical 
forts,  with  gates,  and  covered  ways  to  the  adjacent  water. 
On  Seneca  river  stood  another,  which  was  in  the  form  of 
a  parallelogram,  two  hundred  and  twenty  yards  in  length, 
and  fifty-five  yards  in  breadth,  with  gates  opening  on  either 
side,  towards  the  river  and  to  the  country." 

The  late  President  Harrison  says  "  he  examined  three 
of  these  fortifications — one  at  Marietta,  one  at  Cincinnati, 
and  one  at  the  mouth  of  the  Great  Miami,  particularly  the 
latter ;  and  that  they  all  have  a  military  character  stamped 
upon  them  which  cannot  be  mistaken."  "  The  engineers," 
he  proceeds,  "  who  directed  the  Miami  work,  appear  to 
have  known  the  importance  of  flank  defences ;  and  if  the 
bastions  are  not  so  perfect,  as  to  form,  as  those  which  are 
in  use  in  modern  engineering,  their  position,  as  well  as  that 
of  the  long  lines  of  curtains,  are  precisely  as  they  should 
be." 

Carver,  the  celebrated  traveller,  who,  it  is  said,  was  the 
first  to  notice  these  works,  makes  a  similar  remark  in  re- 
lation to  the  entrenchments  he  discovered  near  Lake  Pe- 
pin.  "  Though  much  defaced  by  time,"  he  says,  "  every 
angle  was  distinguishable,  and  appeared  as  regular,  and 
fashioned  with  as  much  military  skill,  as  if  planned  by 
VAUBAN  himself." 

Over  two  hundred  years  have  passed  since  history  began 
to  embody  the  attainments  of  the  Indians,  and  to  record 
their  nature,  extent,  and  variety.  To  these  it  is  fair  to  add 
five  hundred  years  more  for  tradition,  making  in  all  seven 
hundred  years,  during  which  period  we  may  claim  to  know, 
from  these  two  sources,  what  they  were  masters  of  in  the 
arts  and  sciences.  In  all  that  period,  beginning  with  the 
time  when  tradition  is  supposed  to  have  lost  none  of  its 
freshness,  and  through  the  period  when  history  has  record- 
ed whatever  relates  to  the  Indians,  (a  period,  as  I  have 
supposed,  of  at  least  seven  hundred  years,)  there  exists 


ABORIGINES  OF  NORTH  AMERICA.  39 

not  a  single  trace,  IN  EITHER,  to  authorize  the  belief  that 
the  works  that  have  been  referred  to  were  either  of  their 
execution  or  conception.  Their  intellectual  acquirements 
were  as  low  as  they  are  recorded  to  have  been  among  any 
people  on  the  face  of  the  earth.  They  had  no  letters,  and 
no  learning. 

Not  the  slightest  rudiments  of  a  single  science  were 
known  among  them.  The  sun,  and  moon,  and  stars,  were 
balls  of  light,  set  in  the  heavens.  The  earth  was  an  island. 
Their  pathology  referred  every  disorder  to  a  spirit  which 
was  to  be  driven  out  by  the  noise  and  incantations  of  the 
jugglers,  which  constituted  their  medical  science.  Their 
arithmetic  enabled  them  to  count  a  hundred,  and  here, 
generally,  their  power  over  numbers  ceased.  Their  arts 
consisted  in  making  a  canoe,  a  bow  and  arrow,  a  little 
rude  pottery,  in  the  weaving  of  mats,  the  putting  up  of  the 
wigwam,  and  in  taking  their  game  upon  the  land  and  the 
water.  I  presume  there  was  scarcely  an  Indian  on  the 
continent,  who  could  comprehend  an  abstract  idea ;  and  at 
this  day,  the  process  is  neither  common  nor  easy.  I  have, 
of  course,  no  reference  here  to  those  who  are  civilized,  in 
whole  or  in  part.  The  great  business  of  their  lives  was  to 
procure  food,  and  devour  it ;  and  to  subdue  their  enemies, 
and  scalp  them.  Tradition  has  furnished  nothing  going 
beyond  this  state  of  the  Indians'  attainments ;  and  such,  in 
general,  was  their  condition,  over  two  hundred  years  ago, 
when  the  Europeans  arrived  among  them.  Why  they 
had  advanced  so  little  in  all  that  constitutes  the  progress 
of  society,  it  is  not  so  easy  to  conjecture.  The  question 
presents  one  of  the  most  difficult  problems  to  be  found  in 
the  whole  history  of  mankind. 

Thus  were  the  Indians,  stationary ;  looking  upon  life  as  a 
scene  of  physical  exertion,  without  improving,  or  attempt- 
ing to  improve.  With  the  exception  of  the  half-civilized 
empires  of  Mexico  and  Peru,  all  the  primitive  inhabitants, 
from  the  Straits  of  Magellan  to  Hudson's  Bay,  were  in  this 


40  ON  THE  ORIGIN,  HISTORY,  &c.,  OF  THE 

state  of  helpless  ignorance  and  imbecility.  Whether  they 
inhabited  the  mild  and  genial  climates,  were  burned  by  the 
vertical  sun  of  the  tropics,  or,  by  a  still  harder  fate,  were 
condemned  to  the  bleak  and  sterile  regions  of  the  north, 
all  were  equally  stationary  and  improvident.  Ages  passed 
by,  and  made  no  impression  on  them.  The  experience  of 
the  past,  and  the  aspirations  of  the  future,  were  alike  un- 
heeded. Their  existence  was  confined  to  the  present. 

Now,  I  ask,  is  there  anything  in  all  this,  that  would  war- 
rant the  belief  that  these  works  of  art,  the  result  of  a  skill 
so  consummate,  and  of  labor  so  immense,  were  the  pro- 
duct of  the  science  and  labor  of  this  Indian  race  ? 

It  may  be  asked,  if  many  of  the  arts  of  the  ancients,  (the 
Egyptians,  for  example,  as  also  of  the  Greeks  and  Romans,) 
are  lost,  why  may  not  the  same  fate  have  involved,  in  the 
same  extinction,  those  of  the  Indians  ?  Who  of  us  knows 
by  what  instrument  of  power  those  huge  masses  of  stone 
were  raised  to  the  elevation  of  five  hundred  feet,  of  which 
the  Pyramids  of  Egypt  are  formed?  And  where  is  the 
secret  of  embalming  the  dead,  which  has  been  so  long  lost 
to  the  world,  and  which,  three  thousand  years  ago,  was 
known,  in  all  probability,  to  the  whole  of  Egypt  ?  And 
where  that  of  those  inimitable  colors  used  by  painters, 
which  time,  instead  of  obliterating,  or  fading,  only  serves 
to  freshen  ?  And  so  of  other  arts  that  might  be  enumera- 
ted. Such  a  thing  is  possible,  that  the  Indians  may  have, 
at  some  far-back  period  of  their  history,  retrograded,  and 
yet  it  is  scarcely  possible  that  such  a  backward  move- 
ment should  have  lost,  even  to  their  tradition,  every  vestige 
of  every  art,  as  well  as  of  every  trace  of  every  utensil, 
and  of  every  sort  that  relates  in  the  remotest  degree  to 
those  fortifications,  or  to  the  domestic  economy  of  those 
who  built  them,  and  especially  as  they  have  been  in  close 
and  visible  association  with  those  monuments,  and  those 
utensils,  from  the  beginning.  The  night  must  have  been 
long  and  dark,  indeed,  to  have  hidden  from  the  Indians,  (if 


ABORIGINES  OF  NORTH  AMERICA.  41 

those  monuments  were  built  by  their  race,)  every  trace  of 
their  origin ;  and  the  change  in  their  domestic  economy 
must  have  been  radical,  to  have  separated  them  from  not 
only  the  use,  but  the  knowledge  of  the  utensils  that  are 
found  in  these  fortifications. 

The  conclusion  I  have  arrived  at  is,  that  the  Indian 
race  had  no  agency  in  building  those  monuments  of  the 
art  of  fortification,  to  which  I  have  referred. 

I  do  not  wish  to  be  understood  as  inculcating  the  doc- 
trine that  the  Indians  are  incapable,  or  have  ever  been 
incapable,  of  learning  and  practising  the  lessons  of  civiliza- 
tion and  the  arts.  Such  is  not  my  belief,  but  the  contrary. 
I  shall  discuss  this  question  in  my  next  discourse.  The 
reference  to  the  presence  of  the  Northmen  upon  this  con- 
tinent, five  hundred  years  before  Columbus  landed  upon 
it,  may  have  led  some  to  the  inference,  that  I  supposed 
them  to  have  been  the  artificers  of  these  great  works.  My 
belief  is,  they  had  nothing  to  do  with  them.  If  they  had, 
the  same  history,  it  is  fair  to  presume,  that  has  recorded 
so  many  events  connected  with  their  intercourse  with  this 
country,  would  have  taken  note  of  such  labors.  Every- 
thing, besides,  is  made  clear  enough.  "  In  the  ninth  cen- 
tury," we  are  told,  "  Iceland,  and  in  the  tenth,  Greenland, 
was  discovered  by  these  adventurous  people."  Explora- 
tions were  made,  say  the  records,  and  a  colony  planted 
and  settled  in  Vinland — (New  England.) 

The  movements  of  Erick  the  Red,  are  recorded  in  de- 
tail. "  He  landed  in  Greenland,  in  982,  and  devoted  two 
years  in  exploring  the  country.  In  985,  he  went  again  to 
Greenland,  and  took  with  him  many  persons,  and  there 
founded  a  colony ;  whilst  Thorvald,  (brother  of  Lief  Eirek- 
son — he  who  remained  a  year  in  Vinland,  taking  back  a 
cargo  of  timber,)  explored  the  coast  of  North  America, 
from  Newfoundland,  almost  to  Florida.  He  took  up  his 
residence  in  Vinland,  and  remained  there  three  years,  and 
explored  the  interior.  The  natives  were  found,  at  that  far- 

VOL.  n.  6 


42  ON  THE  ORIGIN,  HISTORY,  &c.,  OF  THE 

back  period,  to  be  numerous  and  hostile,  which  caused 
him  to  leave."  And  this  may  be  the  reason  why  no  per- 
manent colony  was  established  here.  The  country,  how- 
ever, was  continued  to  be  visited,  and  we  learn  that 
"  Bishop  Eirek  visited  Vinland  in  1121 ;"  and  that  "  mer- 
chant ships  arrived  at  Markland,  (Nova  Scotia,)  for  timber, 
centuries  afterwards."  The  hardships,  and  perils,  and 
deaths,  attendant  upon  these  adventures,  are  recorded. 
The  indomitable  Thorvald  lost  his  life  ;  Thorstien  was 
driven  off  by  a  storm  to  a  distant  shore,  where  he  died. 
Thorfien  had  not  to  contend  with  mutiny  and  desertions 
only,  but  was  menaced  by  famine,  for  an  entire  winter. 
The  war  spirit  of  the  natives  was  kindled,  and  battles 
were  fought. 

Now  all  these,  and  a  thousand  other  things,  are  left  per- 
manently recorded  ;  and  why,  after  having  experienced  the 
genial  influences  of  this  climate,  and  been  fanned  by  the 
breeze  of  Florida,  and  had  demonstrated  to  them,  by  ex- 
plorations, and  otherwise,  the  almost  boundless  resources 
of  both  the  land  and  the  ocean,  these  Northmen  should 
have  turned  their  backs  upon  it  all,  and  bidden  adieu  to 
it  forever,  is  a  mystery  that  cannot  be  solved.  And  yet, 
some  may  assume  that  the  settlers  may  have  been  cut  off 
by  savage  incursions,  and  separated  from  all  the  means 
that  might  have  connected  them  with  history ;  and  in  their 
isolated  state  put  up  those  places  of  defence,  which  reach 
from  the  lakes  to  Florida.  There  would  be  something 
plausible  in  this,  if  the  relics  found  in  those  mounds  and 
circumvallations  were  such  as  connected  the  Northmen 
with  their  use ;  or  if  they,  together  with  the  fortifications 
and  mounds,  and  traditions,  did  not  connect  them  with 
another  race. 

The  question  again  occurs — who  were  the  people  that 
preceded  the  Indians  in  the  occupancy  of  this  continent, 
and  left  these  enduring  memorials  of  their  science,  and 
skill,  and  labor  ?  And  who  were  met — fought — conquered, 


ABORIGINES  OF  NORTH  AMERICA.  43 

and  annihilated,  (so  far,  at  least,  as  North  America  is  con- 
cerned) by  the  Tartar  bands,  from  whom  the  present  race 
of  Indians  are  descended  ? 

I  believe  them  to  have  been  MEXICANS,  or  PERUVIANS, 
or  both — and  shall  proceed,  briefly,  to  assign  some  of  the 
reasons  for  this  belief.  And  first,  there  is  an  exact  con- 
formity in  the  structure  and  form  of  those  mounds  and 
circumvallations  of  North  America,  to  those  which  are 
common  to  Peru  and  Mexico ;  second,  the  relics,  so 
far  as  I  have  been  able  to  ascertain,  are  the  same ;  third, 
tradition  favors  the  supposition ;  fourth,  we  have  posses- 
sion of  skulls,  dug  from  our  soil,  of  an  extinct  race. 

It  has  been  justly  assumed,  that  nothing  marks  the  com- 
mon origin  of  a  people,  language  excepted,  with  so  great 
certainty,  as  the  style  of  architecture  in  their  dwellings, 
in  their  temples,  and  in  their  fortifications.  No  traces  are 
left  of  the  style  of  the  dwellings  of  the  race  who  built  the 
fortifications  alluded  to ;  no  comparison,  therefore,  can 
be  made  between  them  and  those  of  Peru.  Time  has 
mouldered  these  into  dust.  Not  so,  however,  with  their 
temples  and  fortifications.  Here  the  similarity  is  most 
exact ;  as  much  so,  at  least,  as  the  action  of  the  elements, 
operating  for  so  long  a  period,  upon  those  built  of  less 
durable  materials,  will  permit ;  whilst  the  dilapidations  of 
mural  structures  make  it  difficult  to  distinguish  which 
were  used  for  religious  worship,  and  which  for  defence — 
except,  indeed,  the  remains  of  that  particular  feature  which 
shows  the  greater  adaptation  of  the  one  over  the  other,  to 
these  separate  objects.  "  In  North  America,  most  of 
these  fortifications  and  mounds  are  composed  of  earth ;  in 
Mexico,  South  America,  &c.,  of  stone,  or  brick,  or  earth. 
Where  they  are  found  in  this  country,  built  entirely  of 
earth,  there  happens  to  be  no  other  material  at  hand,  out 
of  which  to  construct  them." 

But  the  points  of  analogy  are  so  strong  between  them, 
as  to  identify  them  as  being  built  by  the  same  rules,  and 


44  ON  THE  ORIGIN,  HISTORY,  &c.,  OF  THE 

for  the  same  objects.  "In  Peru,  these  mounds  are  ter- 
raced, and  are  regarded  as  having  been  used  by  the  sun- 
worshippers.  In  Mexico,  the  TEOCALI — or  houses  of  the 
Sun,  or  of  God — were  terraced ;  and  upon  their  tops  were 
chapels,  in  which  were  the  idols  of  the  worshippers.  We 
have  the  same  terraced  form  in  the  United  States ;  but, 
owing  to  the  materials  of  which  the  structures  are  com- 
posed, these  are  nearly  worn  away — some,  however,  are 
distinctly  marked."  There  is  a  mound  at  Cahokia,  which 
Breckenridge  reports  as  being  constructed  with  as  much 
regularity  as  any  of  the  Teocali  of  New  Spain,  and  was, 
doubtless,  cased  with  brick  or  stone,  and  crowned  with 
buildings.  The  Natchez,  and  other  tribes  of  North  Ame- 
rica, are  known  to  have  been  sun- worshippers.  And  then, 
there  are  the  relics  and  utensils,  found  in  these  mounds, 
which  are  known  to  bear  an  exact  resemblance  to  those 
used  in  Mexico  and  Peru. 

We  have  tradition,  also,  in  support  *of  this  theory. 
"  The  Choctaw  Indians  call  not  only  the  mound  on  Black 
river  '  The  House  of  the  Great  Spirit,'  but  all  the  old 
mounds  are,  in  their  language,  called  Nane-Yah-,  which 
means,  literally,  hills,  or  mounts  of  God ;  answering  pre- 
cisely to  the  Teocali  of  the  Mexicans."  The  ancient  belt 
to  which  I  have  referred,  and  which  was  sent  to  the  Wy- 
andots,  there  can  be  little  doubt  was  a  messenger  from 
Mexico,  so  far  back  as  the  invasion  of  that  country  by 
Cortez,  sent  to  warn  them,  and  put  them  upon  their  guard, 
against  the  monster  whom  it  described — thus  forming  a 
link  in  the  connexion  between  those  who  gave  the  warn- 
ing, and  the  party  warned.  The  hieroglyphics  of  that 
belt  must  have  been  familiar  to  both,  else  it  would  have 
proved  to  those  to  whom  it  was  sent,  a  dumb  messenger. 

But  we  have  something  of  a  yet  more  remarkable  sort. 
The  mounds  we  know  to  have  been  the  work  of  man ;  and 
for  the  reasons  assigned,  we  cannot  admit  them  to  have 
been  built  by  the  progenitors  of  the  present  race  of  Indians; 


ABORIGINES  OF  NORTH  AMERICA.  45 

and  as  this  country,  when  discovered  by  the  Europeans, 
was  found  to  be  occupied  by  the  Indians,  and  by  no  other 
people,  the  inference  is,  that  the  mounds  must  be  the  pro- 
duct of  the  labor  and  skill  of  a  race  now  extinct.  My 
theory  embraces  this  very  position ;  and,  in  support  of  it, 
there  are  to  be  seen  in  Doctor  Warren's  collection  of  nu- 
merous specimens  of  crania,  in  Boston,  three  skulls,  picked 
up  in  the  valley  of  the  Mississippi,  of  an  extinct  race ! 
COMBE,  the  celebrated  phrenologist,  in  remarking  upon 
these  skulls,  says,  they  strikingly  resemble  the  Chinese 
skulls  in  the  Edinburgh  collection.  Be  this  as  it  may, 
one  thing  is  certain — they  do  not  resemble  the  skulls  of 
the  Indians;  nor  are  they  of  European,  or  African  con- 
formation. And  here  they  are,  found  in  the  very  soil  whose 
turf,  I  have  assumed,  the  feet  of  that  people  once  trod ; 
whose  works,  in  the  mounds  and  fortifications  referred  to, 
yet  exist,  to  attest  at  the  same  time  the  numbers,  and  pow- 
er, and  science  of  those  who  built  them. 

The  theory  which  I  have  advanced,  is,  that  this  country 
was  peopled  by  a  race  advanced  in  civilization  and  the 
arts,  prior  to  its  occupancy  by  the  Indians ;  that  the  In- 
dians warred  with  and  exterminated  that  race ;  and  that 
those  who  were  thus  exterminated,  were  Mexicans,  or  Pe- 
ruvians, or  both.  How  these  fortified  places  were  cap- 
tured, can  never  be  known.  Whether  by  sieges,  or  open 
fight ;  by  the  slow  process  of  starvation,  or  the  sweeping 
outbreak  of  the  battle-field ;  or,  whether  the  contests  were 
within,  or  without  the  fortifications,  none  can  tell.  But 
that  a  people,  occupying  a  point  high  above  the  highest 
point  of  Indian  improvement,  did  once  occupy  this  coun- 
try, and  are  now  extinct,  appears  to  me  to  be  no  less  cer- 
tain than  is  the  existence  of  their  works,  that  brave  the  ele- 
ments, and  the  levelling  agencies  of  time  and  man ;  or  the 
cranialogical  remains,  that  have  for  ages  resisted  the  pro- 
cess of  decay,  as  if  to  assure  us,  from  the  tomb,  and  in  the 
language  of  the  living,  that  the  Tartar  bands  which  now 


46  ON  THE   ORIGIN,  HISTORY,  &c.,  OF  THE 

exist,  are  they  who  warred  with,  conquered,  and  extermi- 
nated the  race  represented  by  these  exhumed,  bony  de- 
monstrations. How  long  the  war  continued  between  these 
races,  or  with  what  weapons  the  parties  fought,  none  can 
tell.  The  war  was,  doubtless,  of  long  duration.  It  is  easy 
to  imagine  how  protracted  it  must  have  been,  to  have  af- 
forded time  for  the  overthrow  and  extermination  of  a  peo- 
ple capable  of  erecting  works  of  such  magnitude  and  ex- 
tent as  those  to  which  I  have  referred. 

It  is  highly  probable  that  the  war  spirit  which  animates 
the  Indians  to  this  day,  and  which  has  been  always,  since 
we  have  known  anything  of  them,  and  is  yet,  their  chief 
glory,  was  kindled  during  this  very  conflict.  Wars  had 
not,  in  all  probability,  until  that  time,  been  common  among 
them ;  not  exceeding,  perhaps,  those  which  we  denominate 
family  jars.  But  the  appetite  for  war,  in  human  nature, 
being  one  of  the  sort  that  "  grows  by  what  it  feeds  on ;" 
and  that  appetite  having  been  whetted  and  made  keen,  by 
the  successive  triumphs,  and  final  overthrow  of  their  an- 
tagonists, became  thereafter  the  cherished  idol  of  the  In- 
dians, and  remains  so  to  this  day. 

The  press  heralded  the  triumphs  of  Napoleon ;  and  as 
his  bulletins  were  read,  the  spirits  of  the  victorious  legions 
were  warmed  into  rapture,  and  the  sound  of  the  trumpet, 
summoning  them  to  some  new  battle-field,  was  music  to 
them.  The  Indian  warrior  proclaims  his  victories  in  the 
dance,  and  in  song,  amidst  his  bands,  who  shout  a  re- 
sponse to  his  deeds,  and  pant  for  the  opportunity  to  imitate 
them. 

Never  did  the  heart  of  Caesar,  of  Alexander,  or  Napo- 
leon, beat  with  greater  emotion,  or  the  bosom  of  either 
heave  with  feelings  of  more  rapturous  sort,  or  the  eye  of 
either  beam  and  glisten  with  more  of  the  diamond's  lustre, 
than  I  have  witnessed  in  the  warrior  chief,  when,  in  the 
midst  of  his  bands,  and  in  the  dance,  he  has  rehearsed,  in 
song,  his  victories — told  of  the  enemies  he  had  slain — the 


ABORIGINES  OF  NORTH  AMERICA.  47 

scalps  he  had  taken — and  the  captures  he  had  made.  I 
can  never  forget  the  song  of  the  famous  Ojibewa  war  chief 
of  Lake  Superior,  Wab-jeek.  I  have  often  listened  to  it  on 
the  shores  of  Lake  Superior,  when  sung  by  his  descend- 
ants. It  was  all  his  own — the  English  version  being  a  close 
imitation  of  the  original.  It  is  this  : — 

"  On  that  day  when  our  heroes  lay  low — lay  low — 
On  that  day  when  our  heroes  lay  low, 
I  fought  by  their  side,  and  thought  ere  I  died, 
Just  vengeance  to  take  on  the  foe — the  foe — 
Just  vengeance  to  take  on  the  foe. 

"  On  that  day  when  our  chieftains  lay  dead — lay  dead — 
On  that  day  when  our  chieftains  lay  dead, 
I  fought  hand  to  hand,  at  the  head  of  my  hand, 
And  here,  on  my  breast,  have  I  bled — have  I  bled — 
And  here,  on  my  breast,  have  I  bled. 

"  Our  chiefs  shall  return  no  more — no  more — 
Our  chiefs  shall  return  no  more — 
And  their  brothers  in  war  who  can't  show  scar  for  scar, 
Like  women,  their  fates  shall  deplore — shall  deplore — 
Like  women,  their  fates  shall  deplore. 

"  Five  winters  in  hunting  we'll  spend — we'll  spend — 
Five  winters  in  hunting  we'll  spend — 
Then  our  youths  grown  to  men,  to  the  war  lead  again, 
And  our  days  like  our  fathers',  we'll  end — we'll  end — 
And  our  days  like  our  fathers',  we'll  end." 

But  these  war  songs,  to  be  appreciated,  must  be  listened 
to  as  rehearsed,  or  sung,  by  the  Indians,  and  their  effects 
witnessed  upon  the  bands.  The  wildness  of  the  strain  in 
which  they  are  sung,  together  with  the  gestures  and  ener- 
gy of  the  narrator,  are  enough  to  make  anybody  fight. 

The  war  between  the  two  powers,  (the  emigrant  Tartar 
bands  and  the  emigrant  Peruvians,  or  Mexicans,  or  both,) 
having  terminated,  and  so  triumphantly  to  the  former,  so 
far  from  abating,  in  the  victors,  the  spirit  which  that  war 
had  kindled,  must  have  rendered  the  repose  which  followed 
as  irksome  as  it  was  inglorious.  Every  chief  who  had  dis- 
tinguished himself,  became,  after  that  war,  the  head  of  a 


48  ON  THE   ORIGIN,  HISTORY,  dec.,  OF  THE 

band,  and  each,  in  his  own  prowess,  sought  for  cause  of 
quarrel  with  other  bands,  that  occasions  of  triumph  might 
arise  in  which  himself  and  his  warriors  might  recount  new 
victories,  and  sing  and  dance  amidst  the  excitements  and 
acclamations  of  their  followers.  Then,  doubtless,  alliances 
were  sought  and  formed,  and  out  of  these  grew  confede- 
racies, whose  territorial  limits  were  the  theatres  of  con- 
stant sieges  and  counter-sieges ;  which,  not  being  tempered 
by  the  mercy  of  the  civilized  code,  were,  no  doubt,  fear- 
fully savage  and  destructive. 

The  war  spirit  had  now  become  the  predominating  spirit 
of  the  whole ;  and  having  no  foreign  or  external  foe  to 
combat  with,  they  fell,  in  the  way  I  have  supposed,  upon 
one  another ;  and  then  followed  the  great  check  upon  the 
increase  of  their  population.  What  the  Indian  population 
numbered,  when  at  its  highest,  can  never  be  known ;  but 
it  is  ascertained  that  when  the  Europeans  came  among 
them,  there  were,  along  the  Atlantic  border  alone,  two 
hundred  and  seventy-two  tribes.  There  might  have  been 
twice,  or  even  twenty  times  that  number — but  of  these  we 
have  the  names.  How  long  those  tribes  had  been  warring 
with  one  another,  we  have  no  means  of  ascertaining ;  but 
so  far  back  as  the  tenth  century,  as  has  been  stated,  the 
Northmen  reported  the  natives  to  be  "  warlike"  and  "  nu- 
merous;" and  in  1615,  "  Sir  Richard  Hawkins,  who  sailed 
from  England  with  a  commission  from  the  Council  of  Ply- 
mouth, to  do  what  service  he  could  for  them  at  New  Eng- 
land, found,  on  arriving  here,  a  destructive  war  prevailing 
among  the  natives,  and  he  passed  along  the  coast  to  Vir- 
ginia." 

But  desolating  as  were  those  wars  upon  the  natives,  they 
were  light  in  their  effects,  and  even  tender  in  the  quality 
of  their  mercy,  compared  with  the  devastating  inroads 
which  were  destined,  in  the  progress  of  time,  to  desolate 
their  race !  Plagues  more  fatal  than  those  which  were 
scattered  from  the  box  of  Pandora,  were  to  be  let  loose 


ABORIGINES  OF  NORTH  AMERICA.  49 

among  them ;  and  foremost  in  the  train,  the  most  unrelent- 
ing and  most  murderous,  was  the  "fire-water?  so  called  by 
the  natives,  but  which  is  known  among  us  by  the  scarcely 
less  consuming  names  of  brandy,  rum,  and  whiskey.  And 
as  king  among  these  plagues,  avarice,  that  monster  of  inor- 
dinate appetite,  was  destined  to  mount  the  throne,  and  by 
the  aid  of  superior  skill,  and  the  tempting  influence  of 
liquid  fire,  the  blight  and  the  mildew  were  made  to  fall  upon 
the  race  of  the  red  man ;  and  this  it  is,  in  connexion  with 
the  anomalous  relations  which  they  have  always  borne, 
and  yet  bear,  to  us,  which  we  now  see,  and  which  has  for 
over  two  hundred  years  been  so  perishing  to  the  happiness, 
the  hopes,  and  the  lives  of  the  Indians. 

But  I  will  not,  on  this  occasion,  review  the  opening  of 
that  intercourse,  which  has  proved  so  disastrous  to  the 
natives.  There  remains  a  period  between  that  at  which  I 
shall  leave  this  discussion,  on  the  present  occasion,  and 
the  one  made  so  memorable  by  the  landing  of  our  fathers, 
and  their  success  in  establishing  permanent  colonies  upon 
this  continent ;  and  that  period  will  form  the  opening  re- 
marks of  the  next  discourse. 

And  now,  and  even  before  we  begin  a  discussion  of  the 
.relations  which  we  have  borne  and  yet  bear  to  this  Indian 
race,  with  what  rapidity  do  the  incidents  connected  with 
those  relations  rise  to  our  view !  and  how  varied  is  their 
character !  REVENGE  and  SYMPATHY,  DESPAIR  and  HOPE, 
come  up  in  their  order,  to  agitate  or  soothe  us.  Revenge, 
prompted  by  the  recollections  of  Indian  incursions  and 
massacres,  upon  and  along  all  the  borders ;  attended  l?y  a 
shudder,  at  the  sight  of  mangled  carcasses,  smouldering 
habitations,  and  dismembered  limbs,  and  scalped  heads,  of 
all  ages,  and  of  both  sexes !  Sympathy,  for  the  perpetra- 
tors of  those  bloody  deeds ;  a  sympathy  awakened  by  the 
reflection  that  all  these  ferocious  acts  were  committed  by 
a  people  who  were  untaught  and  savage,  and  who  saw 
their  homes  invaded,  their  systems,  social,  political,  and 

VOL.   II.  7 


50  ON  THE   ORIGIN,  HISTORY,  &c.,  OF  THE 

religious,  struck  at,  and  tottering,  and  falling  all  around 
them,  and  even  their  country  about  to  be  taken  away  from 
them  forever.  Despair,  produced  by  the  thought  that  the 
race  has  been  made  wretched,  and  sunk  so  low  in  degra- 
dation, by  our  neglect,  as  to  make  it  a  matter  of  doubt 
whether  we  can  atone  for  the  past,  even  by  the  rescue  of 
the  remnants  that  remain ; — whilst  Hope,  the  charmer,  that 
blessed  influence  which  comes  with  such  sweet  soothing/ 
and  is  the  last  to  leave  the  human  bosom,  yet  lingers, 
prompting  and  wooing  us,  by  all  the  considerations  of  pity, 
of  humanity,  of  justice,  and  of  mercy,  as  well  as  by  the  high 
and  imposing  obligations  of  our  most  holy  faith,  to  follow 
the  retiring  remnants  of  this  ill-fated  race,  and  with  the 
voice  of  entreaty,  of  tenderness  and  love,  beseech  them  to 
accept  of  our  aid  and  our  counsels,  and  of  the  hopes  and 
happiness  of  the  Christian  state. 

As  a  Christian  people,  we  should  not  omit  this  duty  if 
we  could — it  is  very  certain  we  could  not  make  a  void  of 
the  objection,  if  we  would.  The  Indians,  as  a  race,  may 
disappear — not  a  red  man  of  them  all  may  exist.  But 
there  will  remain,  and  forever,  memorials  to  rebuke  us. 
"  These  are  in  the  nomenclature  which  they  have  indelibly 
impressed  on  the  scenery  of  our  country.  Our  mountains 
have  become  their  enduring  monuments ;  and  their  epitaph 
is  already  inscribed  in  the  lucid  language  of  nature  on  our 
majestic  rivers."  How  terrible  will  these  be  to  us,  and 
our  posterity,  if,  over  the  whole,  the  spectre  of  the  wrongs 
we  have  inflicted  upon  the  race  shall  be  seen,  whenever 
our  mountains  or  our  rivers  are  looked  upon,  or  their 
names  are  mentioned,  without  the  accompanying  consola- 
tion arising  from  the  reflection  that  we  had,  so  far  as  we 
had  the  power,  atoned  for  the  past ;  which  reflection,  like 
the  sunbeam  upon  the  mist,  would,  and  which  alone  can, 
dissolve  the  spectre,  or  transform  it  into  a  vision  of  de- 
light and  transport.  But  this  can  never  be,  if  our  best 
efforts  are  not  made  to  save  and  bless  the  remnants  of 
this  Indian  race. 


ABORIGINES  OF  NORTH  AMERICA.  51 

How  beautiful,  as  well  as  affecting,  is  that  conception 
of  one  of  the  sweetest  writers  of  the  age,  in  which  she 
traces  the  memorials  of  this  long  buffeted  and  afflicted 


race ! 


"  Ye  say  that  all  have  pass'd  away  ; 
The  noble  race — and  brave  ; 
That  their  light  canoes  have  vanish'd 
From  off  the  crested  wave — 
That  'mid  the  forests  where  they  roam'd, 
There  rings  no  hunter's  shout : — 
But  their  name  is  on  your  waters, 
Ye  may  not  wash  it  out. 

"  Ye  say  their  cone-like  cabins 
That  cluster'd  o'er  the  vale, 
Have  disappear'd,  as  wither'd  leaves 
Before  the  autumn  gale — 
But  their  mem'ry  liveth  on  your  hills, 
Their  baptism  on  your  shore, 
Your  ever-rolling  rivers  speak 
Their  dialect  of  yore." 


52  ON  THE   ORIGIN,  HISTORY,  &c.,  OF  THE 


DISCOURSE  E. 

CLAIMS  OF  THE  INDIANS  UPON  OUR  NATIONAL  REGARD, 
ARISING  FROM  PAST  SERVICES  AND  SUFFERINGS,  AND 
FROM  UNANSWERABLE  EVIDENCES  OF  ENDOWMENTS, 
AND  CAPACITY  TO  RECEIVE  AND  ENJOY  THE  BENE- 
FITS OF  CIVILIZATION. 


PART  I. 

NORTH  AMERICA  AS  OUR  ANCESTORS  FOUND  IT.  IRRESISTI- 
BLE CLAIM  OF  THE  INDIAN  RACES  ON  OUR  GRATITUDE 
AND  FAVOR. 

Brief  review  of  the  position  of  the  American  Indian — Difficulty  of  picturing  the 
past — Humble  attempt  to  overcome  this  difficulty — The  hunter  and  his  prey — 
The  canoe — Fishing— The  war-whoop — The  conflict — Trophies  of  victory — 
The  scalp-dance — The  voice  of  thunder — The  wilderness — The  ocean — The 
forest — Contrast  of  all  this  with  its  present  appearance — Amazement  of 
the  natives  on  the  arrival  of  the  Europeans — Their  first  intercourse — Secret 
fears — First  settlement  at  Jamestown — Indebted  for  its  preservation  to  Poc- 
ahontas,  the  instrument  of  Providence — Her  character — The  sufferings  and 
extermination  of  the  Indians  unnecessary — The  white  man  responsible  for  it  all 
— The  appeal  of  Pocahontas,  "  the  deliverer" — A  second  deliverance  from  the 
same  hand — Her  marriage  and  early  death — Her  descendants — Anecdote  of 
John  Randolph — Lines,  by  Miss  M.  F.  Caulkins. 

THE  Indians  were  left,  in  our  previous  discourse,  sole 
occupants  of  this  country ;  victorious  legions  over  a  van- 
quished and  exterminated  race,  but  warring  fiercely  with 
one  another.  How  long  these  intestine  feuds  continued, 
before  the  arrival  of  the  Europeans,  cannot  be  known — 
perhaps  centuries. 

Here,  then,  was  this  vast  continent,  which  had  been,  as 
I  have  supposed,  the  theatre  of  a  bloody  and  extermina- 


ABORIGINES  OF  NORTH  AMERICA.  53 

ting  war — then  claimed  by  two  powers — now  in  the  sole 
and  undisputed  possession  of  one ;  and  this  triumphant 
party  separated  into  bands,  each  under  the  direction  of 
some  experienced  and  successful  chief,  with  the  war-flag 
always  flying,  and  the  war-drum  always  beating. 

I  have  discussed  the  question  of  their  ORIGIN,  and  by 
the  aid  of  such  light  as  could  be  commanded,  followed 
them  in  their  various  migrations,  and  amidst  all  the  variety 
of  their  condition,  to  the  period  when  they  became  sole 
possessors  of  this  vast  continent. 

Allow  me  yet  longer  to  dwell  upon  that  far-back  period, 
when  what  we  now  know  as  North  America,  was  one 
vast  wilderness  ;  when  there  were  no  cities,  no  towns,  no 
villages ;  when  there  were  no  churches,  or  school-houses, 
no  cultivated  fields,  and  no  gardens;  when  the  forests 
were  interminable  and  unbroken,  save  where  the  oceans  on 
the  east  and  on  the  west,  the  sandy  deserts  of  the  south, 
the  prairies,  the  rugged  and  cloud-capped  peaks  of 
mountains,  and  the  bays  and  rivers,  broke  in  upon  the  dull 
uniformity ;  and  when  ALL  THIS  WAS  THE  HOME  OF  THE 
RED  MAN,  who  was  literally  (at  the  period  to  which  I  am 
referring)  "  monarch  of  all  he  surveyed" 

I  know  it  is  difficult  to  throw  one's  self  back  upon  the 
past,  and  see  it  as  it  was  at  that  far-back  period — it  being 
scarcely  possible  to  disengage  our  senses  from  the  presence 
and  sight  of  the  objects  and  scenes  which  surround  us  on 
every  side,  and  to  obliterate  the  associations  grown  out 
of  all  these.  It  requires  a  greater  effort  of  the  imagina- 
tion to  break  up,  and  lose  our  perceptions  of  an  existing 
world,  with  which  we  are  familiar,  than,  by  the  aid  of  that 
same  power,  to  create  and  people  a  new  one. 

But  let  us  make  the  experiment,  and  fancy,  if  we  can, 
the  sudden  and  total  disappearance  of  this,  and  of  every 
other  city,  and  village,  and  hamlet  of  the  land,  together 
with  every  vestige  of  all  that  relates  to  the  arts^  and  to 
commerce — that  the  rivers,  and  bays,  and  the  ocean,  were 


54  ON  THE  ORIGIN,  HISTORY,  &c.,  OF  THE 

swept  of  every  ship,  and  of  every  vessel,  and  of  every 
sort ;  that  with  these  all  the  wharves  and  landings  should 
also  disappear,  together  with  every  road-way,  every  culti- 
vated field  and  garden — and  at  the  same  instant,  the  sounds 
of  the  axe,  of  the  hammer,  the  trowel,  and  the  saw  were 
hushed,  and  forests  should  everywhere  appear ;  and  amidst 
these  should  be  heard  nothing  but  the  growling  of  bears,  the 
barking  of  foxes,  the  howl  of  the  wolf,  the  screams  of  the 
eagle,  the  boding  note  of  the  owl,  and  the  moaning  of  the 
winds  of  heaven.  Let  us  fancy,  I  say,  the  presence  of  all 
this,  and  ourselves  in  the  midst — and  that,  presently, 
groups  of  savages  should  be  seen ;  that  there,  on  your 
right,  stepping  softly  and  warily,  is  one,  with  bow  in  hand, 
and  the  arrow  notched,  with  his  keen  eye  fixed  upon  some 
animal.  Presently,  we  see  him  stand — cautiously  raise 
his  bow — draw  the  arrow  to  its  point,  and  let  it  fly.  We 
hear  the  momentary  whiz  of  this  messenger  of  death,  as 
it  speeds  its  way  into  the  side  of  the  victim.  We  see  the 
struck  beast  stagger,  and  fall ;  and  the  savage,  with  body 
inclined  forward,  and  quickened  step,  hastens  to  the  spot 
where  the  arrow-struck  beast  is  struggling  in  its  last  agonies. 
He  seizes  it  by  one  of  its  legs,  and  with  his  war-club 
strikes  it  a  blow,  lets  it  fall  upon  the  ground,  where  it 
quivers  out  its  life,  and  dies. 

On  a  sudden,  a  whoop  is  heard — it  is  answered ;  when, 
from  the  dense  forest,  savages  are  seen  hastening  to  the 
spot,  and  as  they  arrive,  stoop  over  to  get  a  sight  of  the 
dead  animal.  Presently,  a  smoke  rises,  and  spreads 
amidst  the  foliage,  curls  over  it,  and  then,  slowly  rolling 
away,  mingles  with  the  atmosphere.  Then  a  fire  is  seen, 
and  around  it  are  grouped  the  savages,  when  the  meal  is 
eaten. 

Near  by  is  a  river.  We  hear  the  murmur  of  the  wave, 
as  it  breaks  upon  the  shore,  and  turning  in  that  direction, 
see  a  canoe  floating  along  with  its  freight  of  Indians.  The 
men  are  decked  out  with  feathers,  and  have  auzeom  about 


ABORIGINES  OF  NORTH  AMERICA.  55 

their  middle ;  a  squaw  sits  holding  the  paddle,  with  which, 
now  and  then,  she  touches  the  water.  About  her  hips  is 
tied,  with  the  sinews  of  the  deer,  or  the  roots  of  the  red 
cedar,  the  skin  of  some  beast ;  and  seated  in  regular  posi- 
tions, are  some  half  dozen  nearly  or  quite  naked  papooses, 
and  as  many  dogs.  In  another  canoe  hard  by,  is  seen  a 
single  Indian,  watching,  with  eagle  eye,  the  motions  of 
some  fish  which  he  is  aiming  to  shoot  with  his  arrow,  or 
decoy  to  his  line,  made  of  deer's  sinews,  with  a  hook 
attached  of  bone,  baited,  perhaps,  with  clam  or  muscle. 

On  a  sudden,  a  shout  is  heard.  We  turn  in  the  direc- 
tion from  which  it  comes.  It  is  not  yet  day.  But  we 
gaze  till  the  light  of  the  morning  reveals  to  our  alarmed 
sight  a  band  of  warriors,  each  armed  with  a  bow  and 
quiver,  a  war-club,  and  a  lance,  engaged  in  battle  with 
another  band.  The  war-whoop  and  the  battle-cry  re- 
sound on  every  side ;  and  the  forest  echoes  them !  At 
one  point,  two  have  met  and  clenched  each  other ;  they 
are  bleeding ;  at  another,  one  is  down,  and  his  antagonist 
is  just  giving  him  the  fatal  blow  with  the  war-club;  at 
another,  we  see,  behind  trees,  a  dozen  or  more,  availing 
themselves  of  their  dexterity  in  sending  their  arrows  into 
their  less  guarded  and  more  exposed  antagonists.  Pre- 
sently all  is  still.  Then  we  hear  murmurs — now  and  then 
a  shout.  We  look,  and  see  coming  in  the  direction  of  our 
position,  some  hundred  warriors  smeared  with  blood,  with 
scalps  dangling  from  their  fingers.  We  watch  their  move- 
ments. They  pass  near  us,  follow  the  curvatures  of  the 
shore,  and  then  suddenly  start  into  a  wood,  and  become 
lost  to  our  sight. 

Presently  they  re-appear,  and  we  see  them  on  a  hill-side 
that  slopes  down  to  the  bend  of  the  river,  moving  with 
stately  step,  and  in  Indian  file.  Just  before  them  is  an  In- 
dian village.  The  wigwams  are  cone-like  in  form,  and 
covered  with  bark.  A  shout  is  heard ;  it  is  answered — 
when  from  these  wigwams  come  pouring  out,  half-naked 


56  ON  THE   ORIGIN,  HISTORY,  <fcc.,  OF  THE 

squaws,  and  children,  and  dogs.  They  mingle  in  one  dense 
mass.  Then  a  drum  is  heard.  Now  we  see  a  circle  formed 
— the  war-flag  is  raised  in  its  centre — a  song  is  chanted — 
a  dance  is  seen.  It  is  the  scalp-dance  !  In  the  midst  of 
these  ceremonies,  a  cloud  arises ;  the  west  becomes  black- 
ened over.  Lightning  is  seen,  and  presently  is  heard  the 
rumbling  of  distant  thunder.  The  wind  moans  amidst  the 
forests,  and  the  tops  of  the  trees  bend  before  it.  A  vivid 
flash,  "  forked  and  fierce,"  now  breaks  through  the  cloud, 
followed  by  a  rattling  peal  of  thunder.  The  song  of  the 
Indians  is  hushed ! — the  war-drum  is  silent.  The  group  is 
scattered — some  are  seen  running  to  their  wrigwams,  others 
to  clefts  of  rocks,  and  others  to  caverns  in  the  hill-sides. 
At  every  peal  of  the  thunder,  they  start  and  tremble ! 
Every  flash  is  from  the  eye  of  the  Manitou ;  and  every 
sound  is  the  muttering  of  his  voice  !  They  quail  before  it, 
as  the  manifestation  of  the  displeasure  of  the  Great  Spirit ! 

We  become  alarmed — not  at  the  thunder-storm,  but  at 
our  isolated,  wilderness-bound,  and  exposed  situation ;  and 
we  look  instinctively  around  for  our  species.  But  the 
white  man  is  nowhere  seen !  We  strain  our  eyes  to  catch 
the  point  of  some  tall  spire,  and  listen,  hoping  to  hear  the 
sound  of  some  village  bell,  or  the  hum  of  some  city — but 
neither  spire,  nor  bell,  nor  hum  is  there.  All,  all  is  desert, 
and  all  the  scenes  are  wild  and  savage !  We  go  down  to 
the  shore  of  the  river,  and  follow  its  meanderings  to  the 
bay,  and  look  over  its  heaving  tides — but  see  nothing  but 
the  rolling  billows,  the  rolling  porpoises,  and  myriads  of 
wild  fowl ;  some  in  flocks  of  countless  thousands,  flying 
over  the  deep ;  others  blackening  the  face  of  the  waters, 
covering  whole  acres,  sporting,  and  diving,  and  feeding, 
and  all  unmindful  of  our  presence.  As  yet  no  death-rattle 
had  been  shot  in  among  them,  dying  the  waters  with  their 
blood ;  and  no  flash,  and  no  roar  from  guns,  had  put  their 
instinctive  terrors  in  motion. 

We  go  to  the  shore  of  the  ocean,  clamber  up  the  peak  of 


ABORIGINES  OF  NORTH  AMERICA.  57 

some  high  rock,  and  from  a  ledge  there,  send  out  our  vision 
upon  this  world  of  waters.  Ocean  is  everywhere,  but 
nothing  else  is  seen ;  not  a  sail,  nor  anything  indicating 
life,  or  having  life's  instincts,  save  the  spouting  up  of  the 
whale,  and  the  sudden  uprising  of  some  fish,  hotly  pursued 
by  its  voracious  enemy ;  the  sea-gulls  eddying  in  the  air, 
and  then  alighting  delicately,  softly,  their  white  plumage 
"  now  up,  and  now  down  on  the  wave ;"  the  fish-hawk, 
over  all,  sending  his  screams  down,  as  he  sails  and  hovers 
over  us,  as  if  to  tell  that  he  was  hunger-smitten,  and  rav- 
enous for  food.  On  either  side  are  seen  nothing  but  bro- 
ken-up  rocks,  fragments  of  the  "  girders  of  the  earth"  and 
ocean  boundaries,  set  there  by  Almighty  power  to  keep 
the  sea  within  its  limits.  At  our  feet  the  breakers  roll, 
and  strike,  and  burst  up  in  whitened  spray,  and  fall,  and 
undulate,  in  foam,  to  be  urged  on  by  some  coming-in  wave, 
to  be  severed,  and  sent  up,  and  descend  as  before,  to  mix 
and  mingle  with  this  ever  restless  tide.  Behind  us  are  for- 
ests of  pine,  and  spruce,  and  hemlock,  and  the  whole  ar- 
ray of  hardy  trees,  sent,  (as  it  were  easy  to  imagine,)  by 
those  of  a  more  delicate  texture,  to  curtain  them  from  the 
spray,  and  preserve  them  from  the  effects  of  an  atmos- 
phere made  salt  by  the  vapors  of  the  sea. 

From  this  hasty  glance  at  the  solitudes  and  desert  state 
of  this  continent,  and  its  uncivilized  inhabitants  and  their 
occupations — HUNTING  and  WAR — may  be  formed  some 
slight  conception  of  its  appearance  before  it  became  the 
theatre  of  civilization,  and  of  the  intelligence,  enterprise, 
and  polished  labors  of  the  Europeans,  which  have,  in  a 
period  of  time  so  comparatively  short,  made  of  this  wil- 
derness a  garden  of  such  unparalleled  beauty,  decorating  it 
with  works  of  art,  and  enriching  it  with  the  sciences  of 
wrhich  the  oldest  and  most  polished  countries  might  well 
be  proud. 

And  now,  at  the  commencement  of  this  change,  the  pe- 
riod had  arrived  when  the  Indian  was  to  be  aroused  from 


VOL.  II. 


58  ON  THE  ORIGIN,  HISTORY,  &c.,  OF  THE 

the  repose  of  his  forests,  and  called  off  from  his  hunting 
and  war,  to  behold  the  approach  of  that  which  was  more 
alarming  to  him  than  the  lightning,  and  more  astounding 
than  the  thunder.  The  sight  of  the  ships,  of  their  crews, 
and  of  the  flash  and  smoke  of  their  guns,  and  the  thunder 
of  these  terrible  messengers,  which  shook  the  land  and  agi- 
tated the  water,  were  all  new,  and  strange,  and  terrible  to 
him !  Never,  in  all  of  his  imaginings,  had  the  Indian  ar- 
rayed anything  in  circumstances  so  appalling,  as  were 
those  which  attended  the  arrival  of  the  first  ships  in  his 
hitherto  untroubled  and  familiar  waters.  A  wild  amaze- 
ment, mingled  with  conjectures  of  the  origin  and  object  of 
the  yisiters,  and  a  deep-seated  terror,  characterized  the 
whole  of  it.  Every  motion  of  ship  and  of  men  produced 
in  him  agitations  scarcely  less  restless  than  were  the  undu- 
lations of  the  waters  upon  which  the  ships  floated,  whilst 
every  discharge  of  the  guns  carried  a  conviction  that  some 
terrible  event  was  about  to  befall  his  race,  which  shook 
him  almost  to  dissolution ! 

We  may  easily  imagine  the  caution  that  marked  the 
opening  intercourse  between  the  terror-stricken  Indian 
and  the  new  comers.  Distrust  was  entertained  by  both, 
and  a  consequent  vigilance  observed.  The  apprehensions 
of  the  savages  were  to  be  quieted ;  and  this  was  effected 
by  the  usual  resort  of  the  civilized  in  his  intercourse  with 
the  savage  man.  Shining  metal,  and  dazzling  and  spark- 
ling gew-gaws,  were  held  up  as  offerings  for  his  acceptance, 
which,  after  a  thorough  scanning  of  the  persons  and  color 
and  dress  of  the  white  man,  were  generally  received.  The 
way  for  a  barter  being  thus  opened,  a  coat,  ornamented 
with  lace  and  tinsel,  an  axe,  or  a  knife,  would  be  given  in 
exchange  for  corn,  or  beans,  or  the  skins  of  animals ;  till 
at  last  having  grown  familiar,  and  the  ship  having  been 
visited,  and  the  hand  of  the  red  man  made  to  rest  upon  the 
guns,  and  then  taken  off  without  injury,  the  danger  losing 
some  of  its  frightfulness,  exchanges  of  more  importance 


ABORIGINES  OF  NORTH  AMERICA.  59 

were  set  on  foot,  and  consummated.  Meantime,  all  was 
caution  and  suspicion  on  the  one  side,  and  solicitude  and 
anxiety  on  the  other. 

The  Indian  felt  that  he  was  surrounded  by  power,  and 
when  on  board  or  near  the  ships,  feared,  (notwithstanding 
he  had  touched  the  guns  unhurt,)  its  destructive  effects ; 
for  he  had  seen  the  fire  and  heard  the  roar  of  the  guns, 
and  felt  the  tremulous  effects  of  their  discharges  upon  the 
air  around  him  and  the  earth  beneath  him. 

And  then  the  size  of  the  ships,  (a  canoe  had  hitherto 
set  limits  to  his  conceptions  of  such  contrivances,)  and  the 
number,  and  dress,  and  color  of  the  men,  all  combined  to 
create  in  him  a  suspicion  that  something  terrible,  of  which 
he  could  see,  as  yet,  but  little,  was  meditated  by  these 
strangers.  On  the  other  hand,  efforts  were  unremitted, 
on  the  part  of  the  new  comers,  to  gain  the  Indian's  confi- 
dence ;  and  with  these,  doubts  were  mingled,  lest  some 
outbreak  might  frustrate  their  designs,  and  oblige  them  to 
quit  the  country  before  these  were  consummated.  The 
Indian  often,  no  doubt,  when  oppressed  by  his  fears,  was 
led  to  sigh  after  his  stone  axes,  and  bows  and  arrows,  his 
garments  of  skins,  and  his  ornaments  of  beasts'  and  birds' 
claws,  fishes'  bones,  wampum,  and  feathers,  preferring  them 
to  iron  axes  and  knives,  the  blue  and  red  cloth,  and  beads, 
and  other  gew-gaws,  which  he  could  obtain  in  barter  of 
the  white  man,  in  connexion  with  his  present  forebodings 
and  his  alarm. 

Various  and  fruitless  attempts  were  from  time  to  time 
made  by  the  Europeans  to  get  foothold  upon  this  continent, 
as  we  all  know.  The  first  permanent  settlement,  as  we  also 
all  know,  was  secured  in  the  month  of  May,  of  the  year 
1607,  by  Captain  Christopher  Newport,  "  who,  with  a  col- 
ony of  one  hundred  and  five  persons,  settled  on  James 
river,  in  Virginia,  built  a  town,  and  named  it  Jamestown." 
There  is  every  reason  to  believe  that  if  one  of  these  colo- 
nists had  not  been  of  the  number,  this  settlement  would 


60  ON  THE   ORIGIN,  HISTORY,  &c.,  OF  THE 

have  shared  the  fate  of  others  that  had  preceded  it.  I  need 
not  say  that  I  refer  to  the  celebrated  Captain  John  Smith. 
Nor  would  the  intelligence,  and  tact,  and  indomitable  cour- 
age of  this  wonderful  man  have  secured  to  the  colonists  a 
permanent  footing,  had  it  not  been  for  the  interposing  hu- 
manity of  the  princess  Pocahontas,  who,  at  the  moment 
when  the  uplifted  club  was  about  to  execute  its  commis- 
sion of  death,  threw  herself  upon  the  bound  victim,  and 
by  the  eloquence  of  her  looks,  her  tears,  and  her  language, 
softened  her  father's  heart,  arrested,  and  turned  aside  the 
blow. 

The  history  of  this  extraordinary  deliverance  is  so  well 
known,  as  to  forbid,  on  an  occasion  like  the  present,  any 
more  than  this  slight  reference  to  it.  But  it  may  not  be 
out  of  place  to  indulge  in  a  few  reflections,  which  an  in- 
cident of  so  much  interest,  producing  consequences  so 
momentous,  as  well  to  the  Indians  as  the  Europeans,  give 
rise. 

The  first  reflection  comes  of  that  abiding  sense  which 
we  all  have  of  the  ever-present  and  ceaseless  agency  of 
an  overruling  Providence,  and  which  was  so  signally  illus- 
trated in  this  memorable  rescue.  The  second  arises  out 
of  the  mysterious  fact  that  Pocahontas,  in  her  angel-like 
interposition  to  save  the  life  of  Smith,  became,  thereby, 
the  first  and  chief  instrument  of  the  ultimate  destruction 
of  her  race !  It  were  impossible  to  class  an  event  so  big 
with  the  destinies  of  men,  with  such  as  are  of  ordinary  oc- 
currence. It  stands  out  in  bold  and  beautiful  relief,  and 
challenges  a  comparison  with  that  other  movement  of  the 
same  Providence  that  raised  up  Washington  to  be  the  de- 
liverer of  this  people ;  and  both  these  bear  a  close  resem- 
blance to  that  memorable  event  of  old  in  which  Moses 
was  set  apart  for  the  rescue  of  the  Israelites  from  the  cap- 
tivity in  which  they  were  held  by  Pharaoh.  In  all  time, 
God  has  raised  up  and  endowed  men  for  the  accomplish- 
ment of  his  purposes  and  the  consummation  of  his  designs. 


ABORIGINES  OF  NORTH  AMERICA.  61 

And  it  being  his  will  to  people  this  continent  with  a  civil- 
ized and  Christian  race,  he  raised  up  Pocahontas,  and  en- 
dowed her,  in  her  tender  years,  and  employed  her  as  the 
angel  for  the  deliverance  of  the  colony  at  Jamestown. 
But  how  deep  is  the  mystery,  that  in  accomplishing  this 
work  of  mercy,  she  should  have  become,  in  that  very  act, 
the  procuring  cause  of  the  subsequent  suffering,  and  final 
extinction  of  her  race !  And  how  are  we  to  reconcile 
events  so  seemingly  opposed  to  one  another  ?  Was  it  the 
purpose  of  the  merciful  God  to  introduce  one  race  of  men 
upon  this  continent,  though  they  were  destined  to  make 
the  wilderness  blossom  as  the  rose,  and  to  ornament  it  with 
all  that  was  refined  in  the  civilized,  and  adorn  it  with  all 
that  is  captivating  in  the  Christian  state,  at  the  mighty  cost 
of  the  annihilation  of  another?  ordaining,  at  the  same 
time,  as  part  of  the  machinery  that  was  to  bring  about  this 
destiny,  the  ceaseless  exercise  of  injustice,  cruelty,  and  op- 
pression, such  as  the  natives  were,  and  yet  are,  made  to 
endure  ?  NEVER  !  NEVER  !  And  yet,  these  results  have 
been  produced,  (and  by  the  operation  of  those  agencies,) 
the  first  being  everywhere  manifest,  and  the  last  in  a  rapid 
course  of  a  final  consummation !  How  are  we  to  harmo- 
nize these  conflicting  events  with  our  conceptions  of  the 
all-wise,  and  good,  and  merciful  God  ?  The  difficulty  would 
be  insurmountable,  if  the  introduction  of  one  race  of  men 
produced,  necessarily,  the  destruction  of  another.  But  the 
question  is,  was  it,  in  the  case  before  us,  a  necessary  con- 
sequence ?  I  think  not.  The  parties  were  under  the  gov- 
ernment of  the  same  laws — physical,  social,  intellectual, 
and  moral.  It  is  true,  there  was  light  on  the  one  side,  and 
darkness  on  the  other ;  there  was  education,  knowledge, 
religion,  against  ignorance,  superstition,  and  paganism. 
But  did  not  these  superior  endowments  create  an  obliga- 
tion on  the  party  possessing  them,  to  impart  those  acquire- 
ments to  the  party  whose  misfortune  it  was  not  to  be  blessed 
with  them  ?  At  the  same  time  that  we  admit  the  peopling 


62  ON  THE  ORIGIN,  HISTORY,  &c.,  OF  THE 

of  this  continent  by  an  enlightened  and  civilized  race,  to 
have  been  by  the  agency  of  God,  we  see  the  heavy  respon- 
sibility that  grew  out  of  the  relations  which  were  necessa- 
rily to  attend  upon  the  new  intercourse.  And  just  so  far 
as  efforts  were  honestly  and  conscientiously  made  by  the 
European  settlers,  to  harmonize  these  relations,  and  benefit 
and  bless  the  unenlightened  and  savage  natives,  was  this 
fearful  responsibility  met ;  and  just  so  far  as  all,  or  any 
part,  of  this  duty  was  neglected,  WILL  OUR  RACE  BE  HELD 

ACCOUNTABLE  FOR  THE  INDIANS'  DESTINY. 

Who  doubts  that  Joseph  was  chosen  and  ordained  by 
infinite  wisdom  and  infinite  mercy,  to  be  the  instrument 
for  the  rescue  of  his  house  and  people  from  famine  ?  But 
who  considers  it  as  forming  any  part  of  the  plan  of  this 
wisdom,  and  of  this  mercy,  that  his  brethren  should  sell, 
and  make  a  slave,  of  him  ?  It  is  true,  infinite  wisdom  and 
goodness  overruled  this  base  conduct  of  Joseph's  brethren, 
for  good ;  but  none  will  doubt  that  they  were  amenable  to 
the  righteous  laws  of  God,  for  their  perfidious  cruelty  to 
their  youthful  and  unoffending  brother. 

The  plea  will  not  avail,  that  this  sad  overthrow  of  a  no- 
ble race — as  our  Indians  are  known  to  be,  by  all  who  know 
anything  about  them — was  not  produced  by  any  systematic 
and  intentional  plans  for  its  accomplishment ;  but  it  will  be 
required,  before  we  can  be  justified,  that  all  the  means  in 
our  power  were  honestly  and  zealously  employed  to  pre- 
vent it.  Were  these  means  adopted  ?  Are  they  even  to 
this  hour,  in  operation,  to  the  extent  which  the  condition 
of  the  Indians  requires  ?  I  leave  the  answer,  for  the  pres- 
ent, at  least,  to  history,  and  to  your  own  knowledge,  and 
judgments,  and  consciences.  These  are  the  tests  by  which 
we  can  all  determine  how  far,  as  a  people,  we  are  culpable 
in  this  matter,  and  how  far  we  are  not. 

It  would  seem  that,  in  the  instrument  chosen  by  the  Al- 
mighty for  the  rescue  of  Smith,  and  the  consequent  secu- 
rity of  the  colony,  and  its  permanent  settlement,  a  most 


ABORIGINES  OF  NORTH  AMERICA.  63 

winning  appeal  was  made,  and  under  the  most  attractive 
form,  to  the  kindly  feelings  of  the  colonists,  and  their  pos- 
terity, in  behalf  of  the  natives.  It  was  no  rude  or  rough 
instrument  that  was  set  apart  for  this  work  of  mercy,  but 
a  young  and  lovely  female !  As  if  a  voice  from  the  infinite 
glory  had  spoken  to  the  settlers,  saying : — 

"  Behold  the  turning  point  in  your  destiny !  Your  mighty 
man  and  great  leader,  in  this  attempt  to  settle  in  this  new 
world,  has  incurred  the  displeasure  of  Powhattan.  He  is 
bound — his  head  is  upon  the  block — the  club  is  upraised — 
in  an  instant,  he  dies,  and  with  him  you  all  perish !  But 
behold,  in  the  person  of  the  daughter  of  fie  king,  Pow- 
hattan, your  deliverer !  See  her — in  the  moment  when  her 
presence  and  agency  are  needed,  and  under  forms  which 
no  heart  that  is  human,  and  rightly  instructed,  can  fail  to 
be  grateful  for,  interposing,  and  pleading,  as  with  an  angel's 
tongue  and  an  angel's  countenance,  for  his  rescue  and  your 
preservation.  The  blow  is  averted — Smith  lives.  Then 
be  grateful,  and  in  return  for  such  mercy,  manifested  under 
a  form  so  captivating,  cultivate  friendly  relations  with  her 
race.  Enlighten  them,  for  they  are  ignorant — bless  them, 
for  they  need  blessings — if  not  for  humanity's  sake,  for  her 
sake.  In  a  word — '  As  ye  would  that  they  should  do  to 
you,  do  ye  even  so  to  them?  r 

What  a  claim  upon  the  gratitude  of  the  colonists  did  this 
one  act  of  the  youthful,  humane,  and  beautiful  Pocahontas 
establish!  And  with  what  angel-like  eloquence  did  it 
plead,  for  the  exercise  of  all  that  was  benevolent,  and  kind, 
and  generous  towards  her  race  ?  But,  as  if  to  double  the 
obligation,  and  insure  its  fulfilment,  the  same  angel  of 
mercy  was  destined  to  become,  a  second  time,  the  deliverer 
of  the  colonists.  It  was  not  now  an  issue  between  the 
life  of  Captain  Smith,  and  through  its  loss,  the  lives  of  the 
colonists — but  one  that  was  designed,  and  at  a  single  blow, 
to  exterminate  them  all ! 

Occurrences  arose   in  1609,   and    subsequent   to   the 


64  ON  THE   ORIGIN,  HISTORY,  &c.,  OF  THE 

rescue  of  Captain  Smith,  which  greatly  embittered  the 
feelings  of  Powhattan  towards  the  settlers.  He  resolved 
on  their  destruction.  Pocahontas  having  ascertained  her 
father's  purpose,  and  moved  by  that  spirit  of  tenderness 
and  of  pity,  with  which  she  had  been  endowed,  under 
cover  of  a  dismal  night  of  rain  and  tempest,  hastened  to 
Jamestown  alone,  and  revealed  the  plot.  All  the  requital 
she  asked,  was,  that  it  should  not  be  made  known  that  she 
had  given  the  information,  there  being  little  doubt  but  the 
enraged  Powhattan  would  have  visited  upon  her  (much 
as  he  loved  her)  the  vengeance  which  he  had  planned  to 
wreak  on  the^|olony.  Being  thus  forewarned,  the  lives  of 
the  colonists  were  saved. 

If  the  first  interposition  had  failed  to  secure  for  Poca- 
hontas the  most  grateful  returns,  here  was  one  that  saved 
not  the  life  of  a  single  individual,  only,  but  the  lives  of  the  en- 
tire colony.  If  returns  were  made,  either  of  grateful  servi- 
ces to  herself  (excepting  only  Smith's  letter  to  Queen  Anne, 
giving  a  detailed  account  of  her  services  and  her  virtues,) 
or  her  race,  history  has  not  made  us  acquainted  with  them. 
Her  marriage  with  Mr.  Rolf  operated  favorably  upon  the 
relations  that  had  now  began  to  grow  up  between  the  set- 
tlers and  the  natives.  She  went  with  her  husband  to 
England,  after  having  embraced  the  Christian  religion, 
and  being  baptized  into  the  name  of  Rebecca.  On  the 
eve  of  her  return  to  this  country,  and  in  the  twenty-se- 
cond year  of  her  age,  she  died  at  Gravesend,  leaving  one 
son,  whose  "  descendants,"  as  we  have  all  heard  a  thousand 
times,  "have  ever  since  ranked  among  the  most  distinguish- 
ed citizens  of  Virginia — of  these,  the  late  John  Randolph, 
of  Roanoke,  was  one." 

I  was  present  in  the  hall  of  the  House  of  Representa- 
tives at  Washington,  during  an  exciting  debate ;  on  the 
one  side  of  which,  was  Mr.  Randolph,  and  on  the  other, 
Mr.  Jackson,  of  Virginia.  Mr.  Randolph  had  spoken, 
when  Mr.  Jackson  rose  in  reply.  He  had  not  proceeded 


ABORIGINES  OF  NORTH  AMERICA.  65 

far,  when,  having  occasion  to  refer  to  some  part  of  Mr. 
Randolph's  speech,  he  addressed  him  as — "  My  friend  from 
Virginia."  He  had  scarcely  given  utterance  to  the  word 
"friend,"  when  Mr.  Randolph  sprang  to  his  feet,  and 
throwing  his  lustrous  eyes  first  on  Mr.  Jackson,  and  then 
on  the  speaker,  keeping  his  arm  extended,  meantime,  and  his 
long,  bony  finger,  pointing  at  Mr.  Jackson,  said,  in  that 
peculiar  voice  of  his — 

"  Mr.  Speaker  ! — /  am  not  that  gentleman's  FRIEND,  sir. 
I  have  never  been  his  friend,  sir ;  nor  do  I  ever  mean  to  be 
his  friend,  sir  !" — when  he  took  his  seat. 

Mr.  Jackson,  meantime,  keeping  his  position  on  the 
floor,  looking  first  upon  Mr.  Randolph,  and  then  at  the 
speaker,  replied — 

"  Mr.  Speaker,  I  am  at  a  loss  to  know  by  what  title  to 
address  the  honorable  member  from  Virginia" — then  paus- 
ing awhile,  with  his  finger  beside  his  nose,  he  said — "  /  have 
it,  sir — /  have  it — it  shall  be" — looking  Mr.  Randolph  full 
in  the  face — "THE  RIGHT  HONORABLE  DESCENDANT  OF 
HER  MAJESTY,  QUEEN  POCAHONTAS  !" 

The  entire  countenance  of  Mr.  Randolph  changed  in- 
stantly ;  and,  from  a  look  of  mingled  aversion  and  contempt, 
to  a  smile  the  most  complaisant  and  gracious.  The  storm- 
cloud  was  dissipated,  and  the  rainbow  seemed  to  reflect 
all  its  hues  upon  his  countenance,  in  one  glow  of  heart- 
felt reconciliation — when  he  bowed  most  courteously, 
giving  evidence  that  of  all  the  honors  he  had  ever  coveted, 
that  of  having  descended  from  that  heaven-inspired  woman, 
was  the  one  he  most  highly  prized.  And  who  would  not 
be  proud  of  such  a  descent  ? 

I  cannot  refuse  to  my  feelings  their  promptings,  to  add 
the  following  lines,  by  Miss  F.  M.  CAULKINS,  of  New  Lon- 
don, Connecticut,  based  upon  the  following : — 

"  Pocahontas,  having  renounced  the  religion  of  her  an- 
cestors, was  baptized  in  the  small,  rude  church,  at  James- 
town, by  the  name  of  REBECCA.  In  Captain  Smith's 


VOL.  n. 


66  ON  THE  ORIGIN,  HISTORY,  &c.,  OF  THE 

account  of  her,  she  is  called  '  the  first  Christian  ever  of 
that  nation — the  first  Virginian  that  ever  spoke  English.' 
Again  he  says — '  In  London,  divers  courtiers,  and  others 
of  my  acquaintances,  have  gone  with  me  to  see  her,  that 
generally  concluded  God  had  a  great  hand  in  her  con- 
version.' " 

"  Not  thou,  the  red-browed  heroine,  whose  breast 

Screen'd  the  brave  captive  from  the  axe's  gleam ; 
Not  POCAHONTAS,  lov'd,  renown'd,  cares s'd, 
But  meek  REBECCA,  is  my  gentle  theme. 

"  And  yet,  she  was  a  nut-brown  maid,  a  child 
Of  tawny  lineage — but  of  aspect  bright — 
A  sunny  gleam  that,  through  the  woodlands  wild, 
Ran  freely  on,  in  her  own  path  of  light ; 

"  A  golden  arrow  darting  from  the  bow — 

A  song-bird  warbling  in  the  lonely  shade  ; 
A  mountain  stream,  in  whose  meand'ring  flow, 
The  depth  of  Heaven,  its  own  pure  blue  survey'd. 

"  STAR  OF  VIRGINIA,  in  her  darkest  hour, 

Her  joy,  her  theme  of  glory  and  of  song ; 
Her  wild,  red  rose,  that  in  the  Stuart's  bower 

Shed  grace — not  took  it — from  the  courtly  throng. 

"  Her — her  I  sing  not — and  yet  her  I  sing — 

Freed  from  earth-worship,  cleans'd  from  rites  obscene ; 
Who,  from  unnumber'd  gods,  to  Zion's  King 
Escaping,  waves  her  palm  of  deathless  green. 

"  She  prays — celestial  brightness  gilds  her  face, 

And  to  resplendence  fades  her  olive  dye  ; 

She  prays — the  howling  demons  of  her  race, 

Bewilder'd,  from  the  dazzling  vision  fly. 

"  With  folded  arms,  before  the  fount  she  stood— 

Encircled  by  the  hush'd  and  rev'rent  air ; 
Her  upward  glance  was  a  sweet  hymn  to  God — 
Her  downward  look,  a  soul-suffusing  prayer. 

"  The  heavenly  manna  dropping  from  the  shrine, 
She  gathered  in  her  heart,  and,  bending  low, 
Bound  her  green  leaf  upon  the  living  vine, 
And  felt  its  fragrant  shadow  round  her  flow. 


ABORIGINES  OF  NORTH  AMERICA.  57 

"  FIRST  CONVERT  OF  THE  WEST  !    The  Indian  child 

A  Christian  matron  stands — from  whose  sweet  tongue 
Flows  the  pure  stream  of  English,  undefil'd — 
Flows  the  deep  anthem,  and  eternal  song. 

"  She  died  afar — no  pilgrim  finds  her  tomb — 

Unknown  the  spot,  yet  holy  is  the  ground  ; 
The  Saviour's  breath  there  left  its  rich  perfume, 
And  angels  keep  their  guardian  watch  around. 

"  As  POCAHONTAS,  while  these  skies  remain, 

Still  shall  our  Zodiac  show  the  Virgin  sign — 
But,  as  REBECCA,  when  yon  stars  shall  wane, 
Yon  Heavens  roll  by,  she,  AS  A  STAR,  SHALL  SHINE." 


68  ON  THE  ORIGIN,  HISTORY,  &c.,  OF  THE 


PART    II. 

THE  MISTAKES  OF  OUR  FOREFATHERS  IN  REGARD  TO  THE 
INDIANS,  AND  THE  LESSON  WE  SHOULD  LEARN  FROM 
THEM. 

Rapid  settlement  of  the  country — The  Plymouth  colony — Providentially  pre- 
served from  destruction — Story  of  Samoset  and  Squanto— Interview  and  treaty 
with  Massasoit — Increase  of  the  white  men,  and  jealousy  of  the  Indians — 
Two  centuries  of  desolating  war — To  Pocahontas  and  Massasoit,  the  white 
man  indebted  for  his  ascendancy — Points  of  resemblance  and  contrast  between 
the  two  races — Colonists  ignorant  of  the  Indian  character  and  habits — Their 
mistakes  in  the  treatment  of  them — Father  Robinson — The  wisdom  of  Wil- 
liam Penn — Bartram  the  botanist — Instances  of  cruelty  and  treachery  towards 
the  Indians — Difficulty  to  judge  of  the  position  of  our  forefathers — We  may 
profit  by  their  mistakes — The  present  condition  of  the  remnant  of  Indi- 
ans— Their  wretchedness  chargeable  to  us — Noble  exceptions — Elliott — May- 
hew — Brainerd — Kirkland,  &c. 

THE  sea-coast  was  now  becoming  dotted  with  settle- 
ments; and  wherever  the  emigrants  landed,  the  natives 
were  either  present,  or  soon  after  showed  themselves. 

"In  1610,  we  find  the  Dutch  as  far  up  the  Hudson  as 
Albany ;  1620,  the  pilgrims  were  at  Plymouth ;  in  1623, 
Pisquataqua,  now  Portsmouth,  New  Hampshire,  was  set- 
tled ;  in  1628,  a  colony  was  established  on  Massachusetts 
bay;  in  1630,  Boston  began  to  be  peopled;  in  1634, 
Maryland ;  in  1635,  Connecticut;  in  1636,  Providence  ;  in 
the  same  year  the  Swedes  occupied  various  points  on  the 
Delaware ;  in  1638,  Rhode  Island  and  New  Haven  were 
settled" — and  so  on.  "  In  1610,  Captain  Smith  explored 
the  coast  from  Penobscot  to  Cape  Cod.  On  his  return  to 


ABORIGINES  OF  NORTH  AMERICA.  69 

England,  he  submitted  a  map  of  his  explorations  to  Prince 
Charles,  who  named  the  country  New  England." 

It  does  not  fall  within  the  limits  which  I  have  set  to  this 
discourse,  to  follow  out  the  details  of  these  various  settle- 
ments, or  to  recount  the  collisions  which  took  place  be- 
tween the  settlers  and  the  natives.  This  would  comprise 
the  entire  history  of  those  times.  It  will  not  be  irrelevant, 
however,  to  notice  an  important  event  which  has  made 
memorable  the  year  1620.  I  refer  to  the  settlement  of 
Plymouth  by  the  Puritans.  As  the  colony  at  Jamestown 
was  the  first  that  had,  thirteen  years  before,  obtained  a 
permanent  footing  in  Virginia,  so  was  the  Plymouth  col- 
ony the  first  to  establish  itself,  permanently,  in  New  Eng- 
land. 

The  similitude  does  not  stop  here.  The  colony  at  Ply- 
mouth owed  its  preservation,  under  Providence,  like  that 
of  Jamestown,  to  the  friendly  agency  of  the  natives. 
True,  the  forms  were  not  so  attractive,  nor  were  the  ap- 
peals to  the  common  admiration,  and  the  common  sympa- 
thy, so  touching ;  but  there  was  enough  of  external  grace 
even  here,  to  challenge  admiration,  awaken  in  each  heart 
feelings  of  the  most  grateful  sort,  and  create  obligations,  as 
lasting  as  the  rock  on  which  the  pilgrim  fathers  first  set 
their  feet,  to  labor  for  the  Indian's  reformation,  and  ad- 
vance him  into  the  high  enjoyments  of  the  civilized  and 
Christian  state.  I  know  that  over  and  amidst  the  too  gen- 
eral neglect  to  do  this,  a  beautiful  light  was  occasionally 
seen ;  and  this  arose  out  of  the  labors  of  Elliott  and  his 
associates,  for  the  reformation  of  the  natives.  These  prim- 
itive efforts  in  a  cause  so  holy,  can  never  be  forgotten ; 
nor  will  the  names  and  memories  of  those  who  made  them, 
ever  cease  to  be  cherished. 

I  have  said  there  were  circumstances  attendant  upon 
the  landing  of  the  pilgrims  at  Plymouth,  which,  like  those 
of  Jamestown,  were  calculated  to  awaken  the  most  grate- 
ful feelings  towards  the  natives,  and  produce  the  most 


70  ON  THE   ORIGIN,  HISTORY,  &c.,  OF  THE 

strenuous  efforts  for  their  well-being.  I  will  briefly  review 
those  circumstances,  as  history  has  recorded  them. 

The  destination  of  the  May-Flower,  as  you  all  know, 
was  not  to  any  part  of  the  coast  of  New  England.  His- 
tory more  than  intimates  that  the  captain  was  influenced 
by  a  bribe  to  shape  his  course  to  a  more  northerly  point, 
that  the  emigrants  might  not,  if  landed  on  the  Hudson,  in- 
terfere with  the  interests  of  the  Dutch  in  their  already 
opened  trade  with  the  natives  there.  Finding  themselves, 
in  the  month  of  November,  so  far  north  of  their  destina- 
tion, ahd  not  being  willing,  at  that  inclement  season,  to  en- 
counter the  dangers  of  the  coast,  the  company  concluded 
to  land  where  they  were,  and  fix  upon  a  spot  for  their  per- 
manent home. 

They  did  so.  He  who  feedeth  the  ravens  when  they 
cry,  and  who  fed,  by  their  agency,  the  prophet  in  the  wil- 
derness, was  present  to  protect  and  feed  the  pilgrims. 
Corn  was  literally  provided  for  them.  Soon  after  landing, 
baskets  filled  with  this  almost  indispensable  article  of  food, 
were  found  covered  up  in  the  sand,  which  served,  not  only 
for  partial  sustenance  then,  but  for  seed  in  the  ensuing 
spring.  But  this  was  not  all.  They  had  not  been  long  on 
shore  before  a  solitary  Indian  came  to  their  village,  and  as 
he  entered,  uttered  a  salutation  in  the  words  "  Welcome, 
Englishmen."  It  was  the  famous  Sagamore  SAMOSET, 
who,  having  previously  fallen  in  with  fishermen  along  the 
coast,  had  been  taught  to  speak  some  English. 

Of  Samoset,  the  pilgrims  learned  that  about  five  years 
before,  the  Great  Spirit  had  sent  the  plague  among  the  na- 
tives at  that  time  settled  there,  which  killed  them  all — not 
a  man,  woman  or  child,  who  had  inhabited  thereabouts, 
being  left.  Here,  then,  was  an  unoccupied  and  unclaimed 
territory,  which  the  pilgrims  invaded  no  rights  in  taking 
possession  of.  Who  can  doubt  that  Providence  guided 
them  to  that  spot  ?  or  that  if  a  landing  had  been  made  upon 
any  other  part  of  the  coast,  they  would  have  met  with  re- 


ABORIGINES  OF  NORTH  AMERICA.  71 

sistance  from  the  natives,  and  been,  in  all  probability,  ex- 
terminated? The  pilgrims  were  kind  to  Samoset — and 
by  being  so,  secured  his  confidence.  He  made  them,  as 
we  read  in  history,  a  second  visit ;  and  coming  a  third 
time,  brought  with  him  SQUANTO.  Squanto  had  been  cap- 
tured by  a  man  named  HUNT,  and  sold  into  slavery,  and 
carried  to  Spain.  From  Spain  he  was  taken  to  London, 
and  from  London  he  returned  to  his  native  wilds,  and  to 
that  very  spot,  bringing  with  him  that  indispensable  instru- 
ment in  all  intercourse  where  two  parties  speak  different 
languages-— a  tongue  skilled  in  both.  What  a  merciful  pro- 
vision was  this !  An  easy  channel  of  communication  was 
thus  opened,  by  which  a  direct  intercourse  could  be  held 
by  the  pilgrims  with  the  natives.  There  is  little  doubt  that 
Samoset,  immediately  after  his  first  interview,  sent  runners 
to  inform  the  great  sachem,  Massasoit,  of  the  arrival  of  the 
English ;  for  shortly  after  his  third  visit,  he  informed  them 
that  this  great  chief  was  not  far  off,  attended  by  a  guard 
of  sixty  men.  We  can  well  imagine  the  effects  which  this 
annunciation  produced  on  the  pilgrims  !  What  fate  await- 
ed them,  in  the  near  neighborhood  of  such  a  band  of  sav- 
ages, they  could  not  know.  No  doubt  they  imagined  the 
worst. 

Squanto,  with  his  interpreter's  tongue  in  his  mouth, 
"  was  sent  to  hold  a  parley  with  Massasoit,  who  came  back, 
saying  the  sachem  desired  the  English  to  send  a  messenger 
to  talk  with  him.  The  lot  fell  upon  Mr.  Edward  Winslow, 
who  went  charged  with  presents  for  Massasoit."  The  sa- 
chem, distrusting  the  objects  of  the  English,  and  no  doubt 
suspecting  their  designs,  caused  Winslow  to  be  retained 
as  a  hostage,  and  went  in  person  to  the  English,  who  re- 
ceived him  with  every  demonstration  of  honesty  of  pur- 
pose, and  of  hospitality.  "  The  result  of  this  interview 
was  a  treaty,  which  bound  the  parties  in  a  league  of  friend- 
ship, of  commerce,  and  of  mutual  protection.  The  treaty 
was  made  in  March,  1621,  and  was  kept  inviolate  for  over 


72  ON  THE  ORIGIN,  HISTORY,  &c.,  OF  THE 

fifty  years,  and  until  it  was  broken  in  upon  by  Philip's 
war." 

How  strongly  marked  are  the  events  of  that  period  by 
the  finger  of  Providence  !  The  diversion  of  the  May- 
Flower  from  the  point  of  her  destination — the  landing  upon 
the  only  vacated  land  upon  all  the  coast — the  coming  into 
the  village  of  Samoset,  and  the  presence  of  an  interpreter 
in  the  person  of  Squanto — the  subduing  effects  of  the  re- 
cent plague  upon  the  surrounding  bands — the  finding  of  the 
hidden  corn — the  broken-down  power  of  the  Massachusetts 
tribe,  not  by  the  plague,  only,  but  by  internal  wars — and 
last,  not  least,  the  new  relations  of  the  pilgrims  being 
opened  under  the  auspices  of  the  good  and  powerfully  in- 
fluential Massasoit,  "  the  boundaries  of  whose  dominions 
embraced  Cape  Cod,  and  all  that  part  of  Massachusetts 
and  Rhode  Island  between  Narragansett  and  Massachusetts 
bays,  extending  inland  between  Pawtucket  and  Charles 
rivers,  taking  in,  also,  all  the  contiguous  islands,"  all  filled 
with  numerous  and  warlike  tribes,  but  all  acknowledging 
the  sway  of  Massasoit,  and  being  subject  to  his  rule. 

The  pilgrims  might  have  found,  as  they  did,  an  evacua- 
ted territory,  and  the  corn;  both  Samoset  and  Squanto 
might  have  been  there,  and  been  friendly ;  but  if  Massasoit 
had  not  been  present,  full  as  he  was  of  all  the  dispositions 
of  peace  and  friendship,  and  exercising,  as  he  did,  unlimit- 
ed power  over  the  bands  within  his  territory,  and  any  other 
sachem  known  to  us  had  been  in  his  place,  it  is  very  clear, 
to  my  mind,  that  the  pilgrims  would  have  been  either  driv- 
en away  or  exterminated. 

The  new  power  that  was  destined  to  work  so  mighty  a 
change  in  the  condition  and  destiny  of  the  natives,  was 
now  firmly  established.  The  cegis  of  Massasoit  was  thrown 
over  the  settlement  at  Plymouth  as  had  been  the  mantle  of 
Pocahontas  over  that  at  Jamestown. 

And  now  commenced,  on  every  hand,  the  invasion  of 
the  Indians'  domain.  In  emigration,  and  the  increase  of 


ABORIGINES  OF  NORTH  AMERICA.  73 

population,  they  saw  a  mysterious  something  that  awa- 
kened their  jealousy  and  alarmed  their  fears,  whilst  every 
expansion  of  the  new  power  was  felt  to  press  more  and 
more  heavily  upon  them.  It  required  time,  however,  for 
the  full  development  of  the  plans  and  purposes  of  the 
white  man ;  but  these  becoming  manifest,  at  last,  aroused 
a  spirit  in  the  Indian,  watchful,  jealous,  vindictive.  His 
early  apprehensions  for  the  safety,  and  even  existence  of 
his  race,  being  now  confirmed,  and  no  longer  able  to  en- 
dure the  pressure  that  he  was  made  to  feel,  and  borne 
down  by  the  wrongs  that  were  heaped  upon  him,  he  at- 
tempted, by  resistance  and  retaliation,  to  relieve  himself 
of  the  one,  and  avenge  himself  of  the  other ;  when  wars 
broke  out,  which  continued,  with  slight  intermissions,  be- 
tween the  two  races,  for  the  space  of  two  hundred  and 
fourteen  years — for  we  may  date  their  beginning  in  1600 — 
and  they  continued  till  1814,  when  the  Indian  power  fell, 
its  combinations  being  broken  up,  and  everywhere  they 
were  seen  to  be,  and  felt  themselves  to  be,  a  conquered 
race !  The  Black  Hawk  and  Seminole  wars,  which  have 
occurred  since,  may  be  regarded  as  sporadic  cases,  only. 

From  the  two  points,  Jamestown  and  Plymouth,  went 
forth  the  elements  which,  in  the  order  of  time,  brought 
about  this  subjection  of  the  Indian  race.  And  now  trace 
those  elements  back  to  their  source,  and  in  what,  I  ask, 
did  they  originate  ?  In  the  HUMANITY,  I  answer,  and  the 
GENEROSITY  of  POCAHONTAS  and  of  MASSASoiT.  The 
springs  whose  waters  were  sweetened  by  their  agency,  and 
to  which  they  imparted  the  life-sustaining  quality,  for  the 
preservation  of  the  emigrants,  were,  by  those  emigrants, 
converted  into  poison,  which,  when  tasted  by  the  natives, 
produced  in  them  disease,  decay,  and  death  !  They  were 
felt  in  all  their  perishing  tendencies,  over  all  the  territories^ 
from  the  Penobscot  to  Florida — from  the  Atlantic  to  the 
Alleghanies — and  from  the  lakes  to  the  Mississippi,  carry- 

VOL.  n.  10 


74  ON  THE   ORIGIN,  HISTORY,  dec.,  OF  THE 

ing  with  them,  also,  the  excitements  out  of  which  WARS 
were  so  universally  generated. 

The  Puritans  of  Plymouth,  it  is  conceded,  "  came  to 
find,  in  the  new  world,  that  liberty  which  had  been  denied 
them  in  the  old ;"  but  they  brought  along  with  them,  nev- 
ertheless, plans  and  purposes,  in  common  with  the  rest, 
connecting  them  with  earthly  objects,  and  with  earthly  pur- 
suits, and  with  hopes  of  a  terrestrial  sort,  for  themselves 
and  their  posterity ;  and  these  embraced,  not  the  ordinary 
affairs  of  life  with  one  another,  only,  but  trade  and  com- 
merce, also,  with  the  natives.  If  these  interchanges  had 
been  confined  to  themselves,  and  upon  a  soil,  and  in  waters 
owned  by  them  in  common,  or  by  one  portion  of  them, 
only,  it  is  reasonable  to  suppose  that  when  collisions  should 
happen,  the  elements  of  a  common  origin,  a  general  equality 
in  the  intellectual  and  moral  powers,  the  same  language, 
the  possession  of  the  same  weapons,  with  a  knowledge  of 
their  use,  and  above  all,  the  pervading  and  controlling 
agency  of  gospel  influences,  would  have  kept  the  balance, 
if  not  even,  or  altogether  steady,  yet  from  an  entire  pre- 
ponderance either  to  the  one  side  or  the  other. 

This  did  not  happen  to  be  the  case.  They  had  come 
into  a  country  that  was  owned  and  occupied  by  another 
race,  between  whom  and  themselves  there  was  nothing 
congenial,  either  in  language,  or  thought,  or  modes  of  liv- 
ing. There  were  no  points  of  resemblance,  save  only  in 
the  physical  structure  of  each,  and  in  the  elements  of  the 
intellectual  and  moral  powers ;  but  these  elements  in  the 
Indian  had  never  been  operated  upon  by  the  hand  of  cul- 
ture ;  nor  had  he  been  taught  those  lessons,  apart  from  the 
influences  of  which,  man  is  cruel,  revengeful,  and  ungovern- 
able. And  not  less  unlike  were  their  instruments  of  offence 
and  defence.  Those  used  by  the  natives,  were  compara- 
tively feeble,  consisting  of  the  bow  and  arrow,  the  club, 
and  the  lance ;  and  these  were  destined,  in  the  sequel,  to 


ABORIGINES  OF  NORTH  AMERICA.  75 

oppose  the  cannon,  the  musket,  the  bayonet,  and  the  sword; 
whilst  axes  of  stone,  and  knives  of  shells,  were  to  be  pitted 
against  those  made  of  iron  and  steel.  And  there  were  no 
meliorating  gospel  influences,  and  no  conscience,  enlight- 
ened by  the  oracles  of  God,  to  restrain  the  wild  outbreaks 
of  revenge,  on  the  part  of  the  Indian.  When,  therefore,  for 
injuries  real  or  supposed,  the  untaught  savage  became  ex- 
cited, and  impelled  to  the  overt  act,  there  were  no  bounds 
within  which  to  limit  his  fierceness,  or  restrain  the  ardor 
of  the  onset,  but  those  which  were  set  by  resistance,  and 
an  adequate  and  subduing  force ;  and  this,  in  most  cases, 
implied  the  destruction  of  one  or  both  of  the  parties ;  and 
the  Indian  being  the  weaker  of  the  two,  not  in  arms,  only, 
but  in  skill,  it  was  a  necessary  consequence  that  he  should 
finally  fall ;  and  such  has  been  the  issue  of  this  contest, 
though  carried  on  for  over  two  hundred  years. 

If  the  colonists  could  have  looked  forward  through  the 
long  and  bloody  vista,  as  we  now  look  back  upon  it,,  they 
would  have  been  led,  doubtless,  to  avoid  many,  if  not  all 
of  the  errors  into  which  they  fell,  in  their  treatment  of  the 
Indians,  as  also  into  the  adoption  of  better  contrived,,  and 
more  strenuous,  as  well  as  more  general  efforts,  than 
were  made  for  their  enlightening  reformation.  There 
certainly  was  manifested,  on  the  part  of  the  first  settlers, 
great  ignorance  of  the  Indian  character.  It  was  not  com- 
prehended how  a  race  so  deficient  in  the  material  for  war, 
could  be  so  formidable.  They  appear  not  to  have  known 
that  the  men  with  whom  they  had  resolved  to  con- 
tend, were  "  naturally  proud,  cautious,  cunning,  cruel,  obsti- 
nate, vindictive,  and  little  capable  of  reflection  or  combina- 
tion." I  say  naturally  so.  Nor,  that  if  they  knew  not 
"  how  to  set  a  squadron  in  the  field,"  they  could,  in  a  mode 
of  their  own,  often-times  overmatch  those  who  did ;  that 
there  were  retreats  and  fastnesses,  which,  when  once 
gained,  furnished  a  security  against  the  guns  of  their  pur- 
suers ;  that  there  were  roots  and  berries  upon  which  these 


76  ON  THE   ORIGIN,  HISTORY,  &c.,  OF  THE 

untutored  Indians  could  subsist,  and  that  their  powers  of 
endurance  were  far  greater  than  those  which  had  fallen  to 
the  lot  of  their  more  luxurious  antagonists. 

Nor  did  the  settlers  seem  to  know  that  their  very  pre- 
sence, under  the  circumstances,  was  enough  to  set  all  the 
machinery  of  this  peculiar  and  indomitable  character  in 
motion,  and  keep  it  so.  The  Indian  eyed  the  white  man 
with  distrust  and  jealousy — but  when  to  this  was  superad- 
ded  the  wrongs  which  history  has  recorded  as  having  been 
inflicted  on  his  race,  it  ceases  to  be  matter  of  surprise  that 
the  two  powers  should,  in  their  manifestations,  have  pro- 
duced just  such  results  as  have  actually  happened.  I  do 
not  charge  upon  the  early  settlers  of  this  country  any 
premeditated  design  upon  the  lives  of  the  aborigines.  It 
formed  no  part  of  their  plan,  in  coming  here,  to  exterminate 
them.  That  they  greatly  erred  in  their  treatment  of  the 
Indians,  and  themselves  caused  the  outbreaks  that  succeeded 
one  another  with  such  fearful  rapidity,  involving  so  much 
suffering,  and  so  many  lives  on  both  sides,  is  a  truth  that 
history  has  placed  beyond  all  cavil.  If  there  be  a  sin- 
gle conflict  that  did  not  originate  with  the  white  man, 
either  proximately  or  remotely,  I  have  yet  to  learn  where 
and  when  it  took  place.  Father  Robinson,  of  the  church 
of  Plymouth,  has  recorded  a  pointed  rebuke  touching  this 
matter.  "  I  have  my  doubts,"  says  this  estimable  divine, 
"  whether  there  was  not  wanting — in  the  early  settlers — 
that  tenderness  of  the  life  of  man,  made  after  God's  own 
image,  which  was  so  necessary ;  and  above  all,  that  it 
would  have  been  happy  if  they — the  colonists — had  con- 
verted some  of  the  natives  before  they  killed  any." 

The  law  resorted  to  in  the  beginning,  and  the  law  which 
has,  as  a  general  and  overruling  power,  continued  to  ope- 
rate to  the  present  time,  in  our  intercourse  with  the  na- 
tives, is  the  law  of  force.  Here  was,  and  here  is  yet,  the 
great  mistake  ;  and  to  this  single  error,  may  be  traced  all 
that  has  been  distressing  to  ourselves,  and  perishing  to  the 


ABORIGINES  OF  NORTH  AMERICA.  77 

Indians ;  or  if  not  all,  yet  the  greater  portion  of  both.  It 
was,  and  yet  is,  the  thunder-bolt  that  rends  the  sky,  shivers 
the  trees  of  the  forest,  and  demolishes  the  labors  of  man  in 
his  dwellings,  his  temples,  and  his  monuments,  and  then  bu- 
ries itself  in  the  earth,  and  is  lost — leaving  upon  all  minds 
within  the  range  of  its  bewildering  descent,  alarm,  and 
terror,  and  dismay ;  and  not  the  gentle,  but  all- pervading, 
and  all-combining  principle  of  gravitation,  which  operates 
alike  upon  the  masses  of  the  universe,  the  cygnet's  down, 
and  the  snow-flake,  gently  and  imperceptibly  producing 

COHESION,  UNION,  and  HARMONY. 

The  law  which  should  have  obtained,  and  the  operations 
of  which  ought  never  for  a  moment  to  have  been  relaxed, 
is  the  LAW  OF  KINDNESS.  Of  its  power  over  the  Indians, 
we  have  recorded  many  examples ;  not  over  individuals, 
only,  but  entire  communities.  To  name  these,  would  be 
tedious.  It  may  suffice  to  make  a  reference  or  two. 

A  beautiful  illustration  of  the  power  of  this  law  may  be 
seen  in  the  history  of  the  intercourse  of  WILLIAM  PENN 
with  the  natives ;  and  around  the  brow  of  his  memory, 
because  he  loved  this  law,  and  practiced  it,  and  extended 
it  with  such  gentle  hand  over  the  natives  of  his  own 
Pennsylvania,  and  ministered  to  them  with  such  mercy  and 
justice,  has  posterity  twined  a  wreath,  that  shall  be  as  un- 
dying as  his  name !  BARTRAM,  the  celebrated  botanist, 
was  in  the  habit  of  traversing  on  foot  whole  states,  in 
quest  of  new  varieties  of  plants  and  flowers.  At  this  time, 
the  Indians  on  and  along  the  borders  were  numerous  and 
warlike,  and  refractory;  and  yet  has  Bartram  passed 
through  their  bands  from  the  lakes  to  Florida,  unprotect- 
ed and  alone,  and  without  arms  of  any  sort ;  and  never,  in 
all  of  his  rambles,  did  he  receive  anything  at  the  hands  of 
the  natives  but  kindness.  It  was  because  he  confided  in, 
and  was  kind  to  them. 

I  received,  some  years  ago,  from  a  distinguished  person- 
age in  Virginia,  a  letter,  enclosing  a  copy  of  an  ode  which 


78  ON  THE  ORIGIN,  HISTORY,  &c.,  OF  THE 

had  been  written  on  a  blank  leaf  of  a  book  that  had  once 
formed  a  part  of  Doctor  Franklin's  library,  in  commemo- 
ration of  those  peaceful  relations  between  the  estimable 
Bartram  and  the  Indians. 

It  is  in  imitation  of  Horace's  ode,  "  Integer  vitce"  and 
was  applied  to  J.  Bartram,  ancestor  of  the  present  fa- 
mily, the  inheritors  of  Bartram's  gardens,  near  Phila- 
delphia, on  his  botanical  excursion  to  the  lakes,  in  1751. 
It  appears,  as  already  stated,  on  a  page  of  the  pamphlet 
giving  an  account  of  the  excursion,  and  presented  to  Ben- 
jamin Franklin. 

"  Whose  life  is  upright,  innocent  and  harmless, 
Needs  not,  O  BARTRAM  !  arm  himself  with  weapon 
Useless  to  him — the  sword,  the  venom'd  shaft,  or 

Murdering  musket. 

"  Thus,  when  thou'rt  journeying  towards  wild  Onandaga, 
O'er  pathless  mountains,  nature's  works  exploring ; 
Or  through  vast  plains  where  rolls  his  mighty  waters — 

Fam'd  Mississippi — 

"  Should  the  fierce  she-bear,  or  the  famish'd  wild-cat, 
Or,  yet  more  fierce  and  wild,  the  savage  Indian, 
Meet  thee — God-praising,  and  his  works  admiring, 

Instant  they'd  fly  thee. 

"  Tho'  now  to  piercing  frosts,  now  scorching  sunbeams, 
Now  to  unwholesome  fogs,  tho'  thou'rt  expos'd, 
Thy  guardian  angel,  INNOCENCE,  shall  keep  thee 

Safe  from  all  danger." 

Mistaking  the  character  of  the  natives,  and  alarmed  for 
their  own  safety,  the  settlers,  on  the  first  intimation  of 
danger,  flew  to  arms,  looking  upon  them  as  their  only  re- 
sort; and  blood  being  once  shed,  however  ready  the 
Christian  party  may  have  been  to  enter  into  a  covenant  of 
peace,  there  could  be  expected  no  such  forgetfulness  and 
forgiveness  on  the  part  of  those  who  had  been  taught  no 
other  law  than  that  which  demanded  "  an  eye  for  an  eye, 
and  a  tooth  for  a  tooth." 

The  records  of  the  wars  between  the  early  settlers  of 
Virginia  and  New  England,  and  in  after  times  in  other 


ABORIGINES  OF  NORTH  AMERICA.  79 

parts  of  the  country,  and  the  natives,  exhibit  cruelties  on 
both  sides  that,  even  at  this  distant  period,  make  one  shud- 
der. The  Indian,  it  is  admitted,  is,  in  his  unrenewed  state, 
cruel;  his  modes  of  dealing  out  death  are  terrific  and  re- 
volting. But  he  knows  no  better.  Was  it,  I  ask,  calculated 
to  reform  his  practice  in  this  particular,  for  those  against 
whom  he  was  warring  to  practice,  themselves,  the  same 
enormities  ?  When  the  Indian  would  tear  the  scalp  from 
the  crown  of  the  scarcely  yet  dead  victim,  and  mutilate 
the  body,  could  he  be  expected  to  reform  these  cruelties, 
when  he  saw  the  white  man,  in  his  turn,  cut  off  the  heads 
of  his  people,  and  mutilate  and  quarter  their  bodies,  as  was 
done  with  King  Philip's,  whose  head,  after  being  cut  off, 
was  sent  to  Plymouth,  and  hung  up  there  on  a  gibbet, 
where  it  remained  twenty  years ;  whilst  one  of  his  hands 
was  sent  to  Boston,  as  a  trophy,  his  body  being  quartered 
and  hung  upon  four  trees  ? 

So  early  as  1623,  the  settlers  began  to  murder  the  In- 
dians by  both  stratagem  and  force — by  stabbing  and  hang- 
ing some,  cutting  off  the  heads  of  others,  and  hanging  them 
up  in  their  forts.  And  it  sometimes  occurred  that "  Indians 
calling  in  a  friendly  manner,  were  seized  and  put  in  irons;" 
whilst  rewards,  at  other  times,  were  offered  for  their  scalps ! 
Under  such  revolting  forms  was  the  law  of  force  resorted 
to,  to  reduce,  and  humble,  and  subdue  the  Indians !  But 
whilst  it  must  be  condemned,  not  only  on  account  of  its 
cruelties,  but  on  account,  also,  of  its  inadaptation  to  the  ob- 
jects intended  to  be  accomplished  by  it,  great  forbearance 
is  called  for,  in  any  judgment  which  may  be  awarded  by 
us  upon  those  long  by-gone  practices. 

We  live  under  different  circumstances.  Our  fears  and 
our  passions  are  at  rest.  We  live,  too,  in  a  brighter  light, 
and  can  look  back  upon  those  thrilling  and  heart-rending 
scenes,  with  the  ability  to  separate  and  classify  them,  and 
judge  better  of  the  merit  of  the  controversy ;  as  also  of 
the  better  way  to  have  managed  it.  It  would,  doubtless, 
not  have  been  different  with  us,  had  we  lived  in  those  days 


80  ON  THE   ORIGIN,  HISTORY,  &c.,  OF  THE 

of  peril  and  of  dread ;  and  the  same  errors,  (for  I  apply  to 
them  no  harsher  name,)  might,  and  doubtless  would,  have 
been  committed  by  us.  It  is  too  common  a  thing  for  us, 
even  of  the  present  day,  when  there  is  so  much  light,  and 
so  much  knowledge,  to  condemn  men  whom  we  see  come 
out  of  scenes  of  trying  sort,  to  their  injury,  and  console 
ourselves  with  the  reflection,  that  if  we  had  been  thus  cir- 
cumstanced, our  course  would  have  been  different.  This 
mode  of  arriving  at  such  conclusions,  is  no  less  deceptive 
than  unjust. 

My  object,  in  the  reference  made  to  the  nature  of  the 
intercourse  had  with  the  aborigines,  by  our  fathers,  is  not 
to  censure,  but  profit  by  it.  And  it  is  with  this  view,  in 
connexion  with  another,  that  I  have  glanced  at  it ;  and  that 
other  view  is,  to  rescue,  if  I  can,  the  Indian  from  the  judg- 
ment which  some,  even  of  the  present  day,  are  too  apt  to 
pronounce  upon  his  race.  In  this,  I  do  no  more  than  as- 
sume that  he  is  Tinman;  that  physically,  intellectually,  and 
morally,  he  is,  in  all  respects,  like  ourselves ;  and  that  there 
is  no  difference  between  us,  save. only  in  the  color,  and  in 
our  superior  advantages. 

Are  all  these  lessons,  and  all  this  historic  teaching,  to 
be  lost  upon  us  ?  Are  there  no  obligations  growing  out 
of  our  relations  with  this  race,  strong  enough  to  induce  us 
to  do  them  justice  ?  Or,  are  they,  to  whose  country  we 
have  succeeded,  extinct?  Not  quite.  Over  three  hun- 
dred thousand  yet  remain.  And  what  is  their  condi- 
tion ?  One,  I  answer,  of  positive  wretchedness — wretch- 
edness under  every  variety  of  form — physical,  intellectual, 
and  moral.  Are  there  no  exceptions?  Happily,  there 
are ;  and  enough  to  prove  the  truth  of  what  I  have  assert- 
ed, that,  with  like  culture,  the  Indian  is  OUR  EQUAL.  The 
great  mass,  however,  is  but  one  exhibition  of  human  degra- 
dation and  human  misery.  We  of  the  Atlantic  States 
know  but  little  of  all  this ;  and  when  the  wailing  does 
come,  as  it  sometimes  does,  from  their  cheerless  and  deso- 
late homes,  made  so  by  the  nature  of  our  intercourse  with  the 


ABORIGINES  OF  NORTH  AMERICA.  81 

sufferers,  it  is  too  apt  to  die  upon  our  ears,  or  to  pass  us 
by  "  like  the  idle  wind,  which  we  regard  not."  Or,  per- 
haps, the  conclusion  has  been  adopted  that  the  Indians  are 
not  capable  of  receiving  and  profiting  by  the  lessons  of 
civilization ;  or,  from  some  peculiarity  of  their  nature,  if 
they  are  taught  those  lessons,  they  relapse,  instinctively, 
and  by  a  law  of  their  nature,  into  the  savage  state.  It  is 
certainly  true  that  in  the  earlier  and  later  times,  Elliott, 
and  Mayhew,  and  Brainerd,  and  Kirkland,  and  others,  since 
their  day,  did  strive  with  a  zeal  almost  apostolic  to  rescue 
the  tribes  they  labored  among,  from  the  savage,  and  intro- 
duce them  into  the  civilized  and  Christian  state ;  and  Eliz- 
abeth Isles,  and  Nantucket,  and  other  portions  of  New 
England,  will  forever  remain  as  monuments  of  their  gene- 
rous and  pious  labors. 

None  will  doubt  the  partial  success  of  these  efforts. 
The  wonder,  however,  is,  not  that  there  were  so  few  con- 
verts, but  that  there  were  so  many.  The  systems  adopted 
for  the  production  of  this  reformation,  were  not  less  con- 
tracted than  defective ;  or,  if  these  had  been  more  enlarged 
and  more  perfect,  still  the  great  excitement  of  those  times, 
the  wars  that  prevailed,  and  the  consequent  bad  blood  that 
was  produced  in  the  Indian,  to  disaffect  him  to  the  white 
man,  and  make  him  despise  his  offerings,  all  tended  to 
thwart  those  pious  purposes.  There  was  enough,  howev- 
er, accomplished,  to  lift  the  Indian  out  of  the  slough  of 
degradation  to  which  some  would  consign  him,  by  the 
judgment  that  he  is,  by  nature,  disqualified  from  receiving 
instruction,  and  profiting  by  it.  There  never  has  been, 
from  the  beginning,  a  system  established,  either  by  indi- 
viduals associated  for  missionary  objects,  or  by  the  govern- 
ment, either  under  our  colonial  or  independent  relations, 
adequate  in  its  extent,  and  of  corresponding  means,  or 
having  in  it  the  indispensable  regenerating  principles,  to  re- 
form and  civilize  the  Indians,  as  a  race. 
VOL.  n.  11 


82  ON  THE  ORIGIN,  HISTORY,  &c.,  OF  THE 


PART  III. 

ILLUSTRATIONS  OF  THE  NOBLE  SENTIMENTS,  HIGH  MORAL 
QUALITIES,  AND  INTELLECTUAL  CAPACITY  OF  THE  IN- 
DIAN. 

Difficulties  in  the  way  of  improvement  not  insurmountable — Skenandoah — His 
conversion  and  death — Kusick — His  love  for  La  Fayette — His  pension — His 
scrupulous  honesty  and  piety — David  and  Catharine  Brown,  and  the  Cherokee 
nation — Other  proofs  of  the  capacity  of  the  race — Their  eloquence,  bravery, 
benevolence — Logan,  Pushmataha,  Red-Jacket,  Sequayah,  Philip,  Pontiac,  Te- 
cumthe — Departure  of  the  Wyandots  for  the  West — Their  respect  for  the  mem- 
ory of  Harrison— Speech  of  Colonel  Cobb,  the  Choctaw  chief— Attakullaka— 
Osceola — Mr.  Jefferson's  opinion  of  the  Indian  character — Colonel  Boyd  res- 
cued from  death  by  Siloug — Petalesharro  and  the  Itean  captive — The  single- 
ness of  his  motive — His  personal  appearance  at  Washington — Receives  a 
medal — His  reply  to  the  donors — Letalashahou — Rescue  of  the  Spanish  captive. 

THE  resistance  on  the  part  of  the  Indian  to  a  change 
of  his  pursuits,  his  habits,  and  his  faith,  is  formidable,  and 
naturally  so,  and  calls  for  a  corresponding  power  and  skill 
in  its  management,  to  overcome  it.  This  resistance  is  the 
joint  effect  of  causes,  all  operating  to  produce  such  a  re- 
sult. There  is  his  instinctive  and  early  cherished  love  of 
freedom  from  restraint ;  his  attachment  to  his  mode  of  life, 
in  which  this  freedom  is  indulged  in  its  widest  range ;  his 
love  of  the  hunter's  state ;  his  aversion  to  toil ;  his  passion 
for  war ;  his  jealousy  and  dislike  of  the  white  man ;.  his 
doubts  in  the  sincerity,  (when  these  happen  to  be  made,) 
of  his  offers  of  kindness;  his  attachment  to  the  traditions 
and  religion  of  his  fathers ;  the  influence  which  dreams 
and  omens  have  over  him ;  and  then  there  are  his  views 
of  the  future  world,  and  in  the  objects  that  are  destined  to 
gratify  him  there,  and  minister  to  his  eternal  happiness — 


ABORIGINES  OF  NORTH  AMERICA.  33 

the  whole  of  these  forming  one  mass  of  materials,  not  one 
of  which  bears  the  slightest  resemblance  to  the  attach- 
ments of  the  civilized  to  their  condition,  or  to  the  faith  and 
hope  of  the  Christian. 

If  we  can  comprehend  the  power  that  it  would  require 
to  unhinge  all  that  we  cling  to,  and  introduce  in  its  stead 
an  entirely  new  system  of  both  faith  and  practice,  over- 
turning all  that  is  lovely  in  our  eyes,  in  our  social,  political, 
and  moral  relations,  we  may  form  some  tolerable  notion 
of  what  that  system  should  be,  and  of  the  extent  of  the 
means  to  keep  it  in  operation,  and  of  the  sort  of  agencies 
that  would  be  required  to  superintend  the  whole,  to  pro- 
duce a  reformation  in  the  Indians,  lead  them  to  cast  aside 
their  habits,  remodel  their  modes  of  thinking,  abandon 
their  faith,  and  their  hopes  in  the  future,  and  adopt  in  their 
places  everything  new,  everything  strange,  and  everything 
mysterious ! 

The  partial  efforts  that  have,  from  time  to  time,  been 
made  for  the  reformation  of  the  Indian,  have  always  re- 
sulted, notwithstanding,  in  a  corresponding  success ;  and 
if  time  permitted,  it  were  easy  to  enumerate  cases  of  In- 
dian conversion,  followed  by  lives  that  bore  testimony  to 
the  genuineness  of  the  change.  I  will  trespass  on  your 
time  long  enough  to  furnish  a  few  examples,  the  first  that 
occur  to  me. 

Who  has  not  heard  of  the  famous  Oneida  chief,  Sken- 
andoah  ?  He  whose  pathway,  for  sixty  years,  had  been 
marked  with  blood ;  whose  war-whoop  had  resounded 
through  many  a  terrified  settlement,  and  until  the  regions 
of  the  Mohawk  rang  with  it ;  and  who  was,  in  all  respects, 
the  cruel,  the  indomitable  savage.  One  would  suppose  that 
habits,  stiffened  by  so  long  a  period  of  indulgence,  could  not 
be  easily,  if  at  all,  softened  and  remoulded ;  that  the  spirit 
of  the  warrior  having  been  so  long  indulged  in  the  prac- 
tices so  congenial  to  the  feelings  of  the  savage,  could  not 
be  subdued,  and  made  to  conform  to  all  that  is  gentle,  and 


84  ON  THE  ORIGIN,  HISTORY,  &c.,  OF  THE 

peaceful,  and  pious.  But  all  this  was  effected  in  the  per- 
son of  this  chief.  He  was  awakened  under  the  preaching 
of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Kirkland,  and  became  a  convert  to  the 
faith  of  the  Christian.  The  tomahawk,  the  war-club,  and 
the  scalping-knife,  fell  from  his  grasp ;  the  desolations 
which  he  had  produced,  he  mourned  over ;  he  saw,  in  his 
mythology,  nothing  but  chimeras ;  he  was  penitent — and 
was  forgiven.  Nor  did  he  ever  abandon  the  faith  he  had 
adopted,  but  continued  a  peaceful,  faithful,  and  devoted 
Christian,  until  his  death,  which  occurred  when  he  was 
over  a  hundred  years  old. 

Awhile  previous  to  his  death,  a  friend  calling  to  see  him, 
and  inquiring  after  his  health,  received  this  answer,  (which 
most  of  you,  doubtless,  have  heard) — "  I  am  an  aged  hem- 
lock. The  winds  of  a  hundred  winters  have  whistled 
through  my  branches.  I  am  dead  at  the  top — (referring 
to  his  blindness.)  Why  I  yet  live,  the  great,  good  Spirit 
only  knows.  When  I  am  dead,  bury  me  by  the  side  of 
my  minister  and  friend — (meaning  Mr.  Kirkland) — that  I 
may  go  up  with  him  at  the  great  resurrection !"  He  was 
accordingly  so  buried,  and  I  have  seen  his  tomb. 

Another  case  was  that  of  Kusick,  chief  of  the  Tusca- 
roras.  He  was  also  an  Indian,  and  had  served  under  La 
Fayette,  in  the  army  of  the  Revolution.  It  was  usual  for 
him,  in  company  with  a  few  of  his  leading  men,  to  visit, 
once  in  every  two  or  three  years,  the  State  of  North  Caro- 
lina, whence  his  tribe  originally  came,  to  see  after  some 
claims  they  had  upon  that  State.  In  passing  through 
Washington,  the  old  chief  would  call  at  my  office,  for  the 
purpose  of  submitting  his  papers,  and  of  counselling  with 
me.  On  one  of  these  occasions,  he  made  a  call  before 
breakfast,  at  my  residence,  accompanied  by  his  compan- 
ions. A  neighbor  had  stepped  in  to  see  me,  on  his  way  to 
his  office,  and  our  conversation  turned  on  Lady  Morgan's 
France,  which  had  been  just  then  published,  and  was  lying 
on  my  table.  We  spoke  of  La  Fayette.  The  moment  his 


ABORIGINES  OF  NORTH  AMERICA.  §5 

name  was  mentioned,  Kusick  turned  quick  upon  me  his 
fine  black  eyes,  and  asked  with  great  earnestness — 

"/s  he  yet  alive  ?  The  same  La  Fayette  that  was  in  the 
Revolutionary  war  ?" 

Yes,  Kusick,  I  answered,  he  is  alive ;  and  he  is  the  same 
La  Fayette  who  was  in  that  war.  That  book  speaks  of 
him  as  being  not  only  alive,  but  looking  well  and  hearty. 

He  said,  with  deep  emphasis,  " Fm glad  to  hear  it" 

Then  you  knew  La  Fayette,  Kusick  ? 

"Oh,  yes,"  he  answered,  "I  knew  him  well;  and  many 
a  time  in  the  battle,  I  threw  myself  between  him  and  the 
bullets— -for  I  loved  him" 

Were  you  in  commission  ? 

"Oh,  yes,"  he  replied,  "I  was  a  lieutenant;  General 
Washington  gave  me  a  commission." 

My  friend,  (who  was  the  late  venerable  Joseph  Nourse, 
at  that  time  Register  of  the  Treasury,)  and  myself,  agreed 
to  examine  the  records,  and  see  if  the  old  chief  was  not 
entitled  to  a  pension.  We  (or  rather  he)  did  so.  All  was 
found  to  be  as  Kusick  had  reported  it ;  when  he  was  put 
on  the  pension  list. 

Some  years  after,  in  1827,  when  passing  through  the 
Tuscarora  reserve,  on  my  way  to  the  wilderness,  I  stopped 
opposite  his  log  cabin,  and  walked  up  to  see  the  old  chief. 
I  found  him  engaged  drying  fish.  After  the  usual  greeting, 
I  asked  if  he  continued  to  receive  his  pension. 

"  No,"  said  the  old  chief,  "  no ;  Congress  passed  a  law 
making  it  necessary  for  me  to  swear  I  cannot  live  without 
it.  Now  here  is  my  little  log  cabin,  and  it's  my  own ; 
here's  my  patch,  where  I  can  raise  corn,  and  beans,  and 
pumpkins ;  and  there's  Lake  Oneida,  where  I  can  catch 
fish.  With  these  I  can  make  out  to  live  without  the  pen- 
sion ;  and  to  say  I  could  not,  would  be  to  lie  to  the  Great 
Spirit !" 

Here  was  principle,  and  deep  piety;  and  a  lesson  for 
many  whose  advantages  had  far  exceeded  those  of  this 


86  ON  THE  ORIGIN,  HISTORY,  &c.,  OF  THE 

poor  Indian.  In  connexion  with  this,  I  will  add  another 
anecdote,  in  proof  of  his  veneration  for  the  Deity.  He 
breakfasted  with  me  on  the  morning  to  which  I  have  re- 
ferred ;  and  knowing  him  to  be  a  teacher  of  the  Christian 
religion  among  his  people,  and  an  interpreter  for  those 
who  occasionally  preached  to  them,  I  requested  him  to 
ask  a  blessing.  He  did  so,  and  in  a  manner  so  impressive, 
as  to  make  me  feel  that  he  was  deeply  imbued  with  the 
proper  spirit.  He  employed,  in  the  ceremony,  his  native 
Tuscarora.  I  asked  him  why,  as  he  spoke  very  good  Eng- 
lish, he  had  asked  the  blessing  in  his  native  tongue  ?  He 
said,  "  When  I  speak  English,  I  am  often  at  a  loss  for  a 
word.  When,  therefore,  I  speak  to  the  Great  Spirit,  I  do 
not  like  to  be  perplexed,  or  have  my  mind  distracted,  to 
look  after  a  word.  When  I  use  my  own  language,  it  is 
like  my  breath ;  I  am  composed."  Kusick  died  an  honest 
man  and  a  Christian ;  and  though  an  Indian,  has  doubtless 
entered  into  his  rest. 

I  might  multiply  instances  of  this  kind,  beginning  with 
the  earliest  times  when  Elliott  commenced  his  labors 
among  the  Indians  of  New  England,  down  to  our  times — 
including  in  the  long  catalogue  those  beautiful  specimens 
of  pure  and  undefiled  religion,  as  seen  in  the  lives  and 
deaths  of  David  and  Catharine  Brown,  of  the  Cherokee  na- 
tion. But  we  have  a  large  portion  of  that  whole  nation  to 
appeal  to.  The  Cherokees,  buffeted  as  they  have  been, 
and  yet  are,  present,  even  in  their  new  wilderness  abode, 
and  distracted  as  they  are,  the  most  cheering  examples  of 
a  most  thorough  progressive  reform ;  and  whilst  much  re- 
mains to  be  done,  there  is  a  controlling  mass  which  pro- 
mises, at  no  distant  day,  to  regulate  and  reform  the  whole, 
provided  one  indispensable  element  be  superadded — what 
that  element  is,  I  will  make  known  at  the  conclusion  of 
this  discourse.  This  withheld,  and  the  fate  of  the  Indian 
race  is  sealed. 

The  same  state  of  progressive  improvement  is  seen, 


ABORIGINES  OF  NORTH  AMERICA.  87 

also,  among  the  Choctaws,  and  Chickasaws,  and  Creeks ; 
indeed,  the  entire  population  at  this  time  within  what  is 
called  "  the  Indian  territory"  partakes  more  or  less  of  that 
spirit  of  improvement  which  had  begun  to  operate  among 
the  Cherokees  and  others,  on  this  side  of  the  Mississippi. 
"  A  general  council,"  adopting  the  language  of  a  recent 
writer,  "  recently  held  among  them  in  their  new  abode, 
with  representatives  from  seventeen  tribes,  may  be  said  to 
have  laid  the  foundation  of  a  Federal  Union.  For  such  a 
step,  the  leading  tribes  are  already  well  prepared.  The 
Cherokees,  Choctaws,  Chickasaws,  and  Creeks,  are  already 
organized  states — having  settled  constitutions,  written  laws, 
representative  legislatures,  and  regular  courts  of  justice ; 
little  inferior,  either  in  theory  or  practice,  to  those  of  the 
white  man."  These  are  the  fruits  from  the  seed  sown, 
(within  the  last  thirty  years,)  on  this  side  the  Mississippi, 
by  the  combined  labors  of  the  government  and  the  mis- 
sionaries— to  which  I  shall  refer  more  at  large  in  the  se- 
quel— the  taste  of  which  is  now  beginning  to  be  so  grate- 
ful to  them  in  their  new  homes.  Homes !  did  I  say  ? 
They  have  no  homes — and  to  this,  their  cheerless  and  desti- 
tute condition,  I  shall  hope  to  have  your  attention  and 
sympathy,  when  I  come  to  that  part  of  my  subject.  What 
if  the  Choctaws  have  decided  to  build  a  college  in  some 
central  part  of  the  nation,  where  the  education  of  their 
youth  is  to  be  completed,  and  towards  the  building  of 
which  they  have  subscribed  twenty  thousand  dollars  ? 
What  if  they  have,  over  their  whole  country,  which  is 
divided  into  four  districts,  courts  of  law,  judges,  inferior  and 
superior,  with  all  the  appropriate  officers  ?  What  if  their 
religious  and  temperance  societies  are  numerous — and 
what  if  a  spirit  of  reform  in  these  branches  is  active  ?  I 
ask  what  of  all  this,  if  this  intellectually  budding,  and 
spring-time-like  prospect  is  at  any  moment  liable  to  be 
blighted,  and  themselves  to  be  driven  farther  west,  or  into 
a  conflict  more  terrible  in  its  consequences,  to  both  them 


88  ON  THE  ORIGIN,  HISTORY,  <fcc.,  OF  THE 

and  us,  than  any  that  has  preceded  it  ?     But  I  am  anticipa- 
ting what  I  have  reserved  for  another  place. 

But  suppose  we  had  none  of  these  examples  to  refer  to, 
of  high  attainments  in  civilization,  and  in  the  Christian 
faith ;  and  that  not  an  Indian  had  adopted  or  practised  les- 
sons derived  from  either,  but  could  furnish  examples  of 
eloquence,  bravery,  benevolence,  and  generosity ;  specimens 
of  a  high  intellectual  bearing,  and  love  of  kind  and  coun- 
try ;  ought  not  a  people  thus  endowed  by  nature,  to  be 
esteemed  worthy  of  the  Christian  teaching  and  labors, 
and  of  the  government's  protection,  as  well  as  of  the  co- 
operating agency  of  every  good  man  ? 

Logan  might  be  cited  for  his  eloquence ;  and  Pushmataha, 
and  Red-Jacket,  and  many  others  ;  but  let  a  single  quota- 
tion from  the  dying  address  of  the  Choctaw  warrior-chief, 
Pushmataha,  suffice  for  the  whole.  He  died  in  Washing- 
ton, and  of  the  croup.  His  remains  repose  by  the  sides  of 
the  illustrious  of  our  race,  with  a  monument  over  them. 
His  associates  being  around  his  death-bed,  he  said — "  / 
shall  die,  but  you  will  return  to  our  brethren.  As  you  go 
along  the  paths,  you  will  see  the  flowers,  and  hear  the  birds 
sing  ;  but  Pushmataha  will  see  them  and  hear  them  no  more. 
When  you  shall  come  to  your  homes,  they  will  ask  you,  where 
is  Pushmataha  ?  And  you  will  say  to  them,  he  is  no  more  ! 
They  will  hear  the  tidings  like  the  fall  of  a  mighty  oak,  in 
the  stillness  of  the  wood  /" 

For  benevolence  and  generosity,  Pocahontas  and  Mas- 
sasoit,  and  a  host  besides,  may  be  pointed  to,  as  challeng- 
ing comparisons  with  the  most  renowned  in  these  virtues ; 
for  intellectual  vigor,  Sequayah,  a  Cherokee,  who  gave  to 
his  people  the  alphabet  of  their  language,  and  who  ranks 
with  Cadmus ;  and  for  bravery,  and  devotion  to  their  coun- 
try and  kind,  Philip,  and  Pontiac,  and  Tecumthe,  may  be 
regarded  as  settling  the  controversy  touching  endowments 
in  these  departments  of  the  Indian  character.  By  whom 
were  combinations  for  war  purposes  better  arranged ;  and 


ABORIGINES  OF  NORTH  AMERICA.  39 

where,  considering  the  means  at  the  disposal  of  all  three 
of  these  men  of  renown,  were  results  more  demonstrative 
of  mind,  and  of  its  powers  ?  Aye — and  mark  the  spirit, 
which  under  certain  circumstances  animates  these  out- 
casts, and  then  tell  me,  if  they  are  not  susceptible  of 
the  loftiest,  noblest,  and  most  generous  impulses  of  our 
nature  ? 

When  the  last  of  the  Wyandot  race  were,  in  July, 
(1843,)  bidding  a  final  farewell  to  their  Ohio  home,  where 
their  council-fire  had  burned  for  ages,  to  cross  that  water 
which  was  to  form  an  eternal  barrier  to  their  return,  as  it 
will  prove  to  all  the  red  men  that  have  passed  over  it,  or 
that  may  hereafter  pass  over  it,  they  approached,  in  de- 
scending the  Ohio,  the  spot  where  repose  the  remains  of 
HARRISON.  Many  of  their  braves  had  fought  under  the 
general  in  the  last  war,  and  several  had  distinguished  them- 
selves at  the  battle  of  Fort  Meigs.  For  the  memory  of 
the  "  white  chief?  as  they  called  him,  they  cherished  the 
greatest  devotion.  They  were  in  number,  six  hundred 
and  thirty  men,  women  and  children.  On  nearing  North 
Bend,  the  principal  chief  requested  Captain  Claghorn 
to  have  the  "big  gun"  loaded.  It  was  done.  Mean- 
time, the  chiefs  and  braves  silently  gathered  upon  the  hur- 
ricane roof,  and  formed  in  line,  fronting  the  resting-place 
of  their  departed  chief.  "  The  engine  was  stopped,  and 
the  boat  was  suffered  to  drift  with  the  current.  As  they 
passed  the  tomb,  they  all  uncovered,  and  gently  waved 
their  hats,  in  silence ;  and  after  the  boat  had  passed,  and 
the  report  of  the  cannon  had  died  away,  the  chief  stepped 
forward,  and  in  an  impressive  manner  exclaimed,  "  FARE- 
WELL, OHIO,  AND  HER  BRAVE  !" 

"A  letter  published  in  the  Christian  Advocate,  from 
Rev.  James  Wheeler,  dated  September  30,  represents  these 
poor  wanderers  in  rather  a  sad  condition.  They  were 
encamped  on  the  Kansas  river,  about  two  miles  above  its 
junction  with  the  Missouri.  As  yet,  they  had  met  with 

VOL.   H.  12 


90  ON  THE  ORIGIN,  HISTORY,  &c.,  OF  THE 

no  tribe  with  whom  they  would  like  to  mingle,  and  found 
no  spot  on  which  they  would  like  to  settle. 

"  Mr.  Wheeler  states  that  there  was  a  good  deal  of  sick- 
ness among  them."  And  yet  we  are  Christians  ! 

Hear  the  wail  of  another  tribe,  and  listen  to  the  elo- 
quence of  another  of  these  outcasts.  It  is  a  speech  of  Co- 
lonel Cobb,  the  celebrated  half-breed  chief  of  the  Choc- 
taws,  made  in  reply  to  J.  J.  McRae,  Esq.,  the  agent  for 
enrolling  and  emigrating  the  Indians  to  the  west  of  the 
Mississippi,  who  had  made  a  speech  to  about  one  thou- 
sand in  number,  when  assembled  at  Hopahka,  informing 
them  that  "  their  council-fires  could  no  more  be  kindled 
here  ;"  that  "  their  warriors  can  have  no  field  for  their 
glory  ;  and  that  their  spirits  will  decay  within  them ;"  and 
that  if  they  should  "  take  the  hand  of  their  great  father, 
the  President,  which  is  now  offered  to  them,  to  lead  them 
to  their  western  homes,  their  hopes  will  be  higher,  their 
destinies  brighter." 

SPEECH  OF  COLONEL  COBB, 

Head  Mingo  of  the  Choctaws,  east  of  the  Mississippi,  in  re- 
ply to  the  Agent  of  the  United  States. 

"  Brother — We  have  heard  your  talk  as  from  the  lips  of 
our  father,  the  great  white  chief  at  Washington,  and  my 
people  have  called  upon  me  to  speak  to  you.  The  red 
man  has  no  books,  and  when  he  wishes  to  make  known 
his  views,  like  his  father  before  him,  he  speaks  from  his 
mouth.  He  is  afraid  of  writing.  When  he  speaks  he  knows 
what  he  says ;  the  Great  Spirit  hears  him.  Writing  is  the  in- 
vention of  the  pale-faces ;  it  gives  birth  to  error  and  to 
feuds.  The  Great  Spirit  talks — we  hear  him  in  the 
thunder — in  the  rushing  winds  and  the  mighty  waters — but 
he  never  writes. 

"  Brother — When  you  were  young  we  were  strong,  we 
fought  by  your  side ;  but  our  arms  are  now  broken.  You 
have  grown  large  :  my  people  have  become  small. 

"  Brother — My  voice  is  weak ;  you  can  scarcely  hear  me  ; 


ABORIGINES  OF  NORTH  AMERICA.  91 

it  is  not  the  shout  of  a  warrior,  but  the  wail  of  an  infant. 
I  have  lost  it  in  wailing  over  the  misfortunes  of  my  people. 
These  are  their  graves,  and  in  those  aged  pines  you  hear 
the  ghosts  of  the  departed.  Their  ashes  are  here,  and  we 
have  been  left  to  protect  them.  Our  warriors  are  nearly 
all  gone  to  the  far  country  west ;  but  here  are  our  dead. 
Shall  we  go,  too,  and  give  their  bones  to  the  wolves  ? 

"  Brother — Two  sleeps  have  passed  since  we  heard  you 
talk.  We  have  thought  upon  it.  You  ask  us  to  leave  our 
country,  and  tell  us  it  is  our  father's  wish.  We  would  not 
desire  to  displease  our  father.  We  respect  him,  and  you 
his  child.  But  the  Choctaw  always  thinks.  We  want  time 
to  answer. 

"  Brother — Our  hearts  are  full.  Twelve  winters  ago  our 
chiefs  sold  our  country.  Every  warrior  that  you  see  here 
was  opposed  to  the  treaty.  If  the  dead  could  have  been 
counted,  it  could  never  have  been  made  ;  but,  alas  !  though 
they  stood  around,  they  could  not  be  seen  or  heard.  Their 
tears  came  in  the  rain-drops,  and  their  voices  in  the  wail- 
ing wind,  but  the  pale-faces  knew  it  not,  and  our  land  was 
taken  away. 

"  Brother — We  do  not  now  complain.  The  Choctaw  suf- 
fers, but  never  weeps.  You  have  the  strong  arm,  and  we 
cannot  resist :  but  the  pale-face  worships  the  Great  Spi- 
rit. So  does  the  red  man.  The  Great  Spirit  loves  truth. 
When  you  took  our  country  you  promised  us  land.  There 
is  your  promise  in  the  book.  Twelve  times  have  the  trees 
dropped  their  leaves,  yet  we  have  received  no  land.  Our 
houses  have  been  taken  from  us.  The  white  man's  plough 
turns  up  the  bones  of  our  fathers.  We  dare  not  kindle  our 
fires ;  and  yet  you  said  we  might  remain,  and  you  would 
give  us  land. 

"  Brother — Is  this  truth  ?  But  we  believe  now  our  great 
father  knows  our  condition,  he  will  listen  to  us.  We  are 
as  mourning  orphans  in  our  country ;  but  our  father  will 
take  us  by  the  hand.  When  he  fulfils  his  promise,  we  will 


92  ON  THE   ORIGIN,  HISTORY,  &c.,  OF  THE 

answer  his  talk.  He  means  well.  We  know  it.  But  we 
cannot  think  now.  Grief  has  made  children  of  us.  When 
our  business  is  settled,  we  shall  be  men  again,  and  talk  to 
our  great  father  about  what  he  has  proposed. 

"  Brother,  you  stand  in  the  moccasins  of  a  great  chief, 
you  speak  the  words  of  a  mighty  nation,  and  your  talk 
was  long.  My  people  are  small,  their  shadow  scarcely 
reaches  to  your  knee ;  they  are  scattered  and  gone  ;  when 
I  shout,  I  hear  my  voice  in  the  depth  of  the  woods,  but  no 
answering  shout  comes  back.  My  words,  therefore,  are 
few.  I  have  nothing  more  to  say,  but  to  request  you  to 
tell  what  I  have  said  to  the  tall  chief  of  the  pale-faces,  whose 
brother*  stands  by  your  side." 

It  were  easy  to  multiply  examples,  not  perhaps  of  equal 
capacity,  or  of  such  pathos — and,  I  may  add,  sublimity, 
but  all  going  to  demonstrate  the  truth  we  are  aiming  to  es- 
tablish. ATTAKULLAKA,  a  Cherokee  chief  of  times  long 
gone  by,  might  be  referred  to,  and  an  hour  employed  in  the 
presentation  and  illustration  of  his  virtues ;  and  OSCEOLA, 
of  modern  times.  The  very  fact  that  so  weak  and  desti- 
tute a  people  as  the  Seminoles  are  known  to  be,  should  be 
able  to  resist  the  power  of  this  nation,  and  for  a  period 
nearly,  if  not  quite  as  long,  as  that  embraced  by  the  war  of 
the  revolution,  affords  strong  evidence  in  favor  of  the  skill 
and  bravery  of  that  unfortunate  tribe. 

Of  the  Indian,  Mr.  Jefferson  says — "  He  is  affection- 
ate to  his  children ;  careful  of  them,  and  indulgent,  in 
the  extreme ;  that  his  affections  comprehend  his  other 
connexions,  weakening,  as  with  us,  from  circle  to  cir- 
cle, as  they  recede  from  the  centre ;  that  his  friendships 
are  strong,  and  faithful  to  the  uttermost  extremity.  A 
remarkable  instance  of  this,"  he  proceeds,  "  appeared 
in  the  case  of  Colonel  Boyd,  who  was  sent  to  the  Cher- 
okee nation  to  transact  some  business  with  them.  It 

*  William  Tyler,  of  Virginia,  brother  to  the  late  President  of  the  United  States 
one  of  the  Choctaw  Commissioners. 


ABORIGINES  OF  NORTH  AMERICA.  93 

happened  that  some  of  our  disorderly  people  had  killed  one 
or  two  of  that  nation ;"  (if  I  am  not  mistaken,  basely 
prompted  thereto  by  the  reward  which  had  been  offered 
for  Indian  scalps,)  "  it  was,  therefore,  proposed  in  the 
council  of  the  Cherokees,  that  Colonel  Boyd  should  be 
put  to  death,  in  revenge  for  the  loss  of  their  countrymen. 
Among  them  was  a  chief  called  SILOUE,  who,  on  some  for- 
mer occasion,  had  contracted  an  acquaintance  with  Colo- 
nel Boyd,  and  a  friendship  for  him.  He  came  to  him  every 
night,  in  his  tent,  and  told  him  not  to  be  afraid,  they  should 
not  kill  him.  After  many  days  deliberation,  however,  the 
determination  was,  contrary  to  Siloue's  expectation,  that 
Boyd  should  be  put  to  death,  and  some  warriors  were  des- 
patched as  executioners.  Siloue  attended  them,  and  when 
they  approached  the  tent,  he  threw  himself  between  them 
and  Boyd,  and  said  to  the  warriors  :  '  This  man  is  my  friend : 
before  you  get  at  him,  you  must  kill  me.'  On  which  they 
returned,  and  the  council  respected  the  principle  so  much, 
as  to  recede  from  their  determination." 

I  cannot  resist  the  inclination,  though  at  the  hazard  of 
being  thought  tedious,  of  presenting  to  you  another  in- 
stance of  humanity,  mingled  with  the  highest  order  of  chi- 
valry : 

"  The  Pawnee  Loups  had  long  practised  the  savage  rite, 
known  to  no  other  of  the  American  tribes,  of  sacrificing 
human  victims  to  the  Great  Star,  or  the  planet  Venus. 
This  dreadful  ceremony  annually  preceded  the  prepara- 
tions for  planting  corn,  and  was  supposed  to  be  necessary 
to  secure  a  fruitful  season.  To  prevent  a  failure  of  the 
crop,  and  a  consequent  famine,  some  individual  was  ex- 
pected to  offer  up  a  prisoner,  of  either  sex,  who  had  been 
captured  in  war,  and  some  one  was  always  found  who  cov- 
eted the  honor  of  dedicating  the  spoil  of  his  prowess  to  the 
national  benefit.  The  intended  victim,  carefully  kept  in 
ignorance  of  the  fate  that  impended,  was  dressed  in  gay 
attire,  supplied  with  choicest  food,  and  treated  with  every 


94  ON  THE   ORIGIN,  HISTORY,  &c.,  OF  THE 

tenderness,  with  the  view  of  promoting  obesity,  and  pre- 
paring an  offering  the  more  acceptable  to  the  deities  who 
were  to  be  propitiated.  When,  by  the  successful  employ- 
ment of  those  means,  the  unconscious  victim  was  sufficient- 
ly fatted,  a  day  was  appointed  for  the  sacrifice,  and  the 
whole  nation  assembled  to  witness  the  solemn  scene." 

You  will  now  fancy  yourselves  in  view  of  the  great  gath- 
ering of  the  Pawnees,  and  in  sight  of  the  multitude  assem- 
bled in  honor  of  the  sacrifice.  In  your  nearer  approach 
you  will  hear  their  orgies.  In  the  midst  of  the  great  circle 
a  stake  is  brought,  its  end  is  sharpened,  when  it  is  driven 
deep  in  the  ground.  Yells  and  shouts  are  heard,  and  these 
announce  that  all  is  ready.  In  the  distance  is  a  company 
of  Pawnees — by  the  side  of  the  leader  is  a  delicate  girl. 
She  is  an  Itean  maid.  They  approach  nearer.  He  who 
made  her  captive  steps  proudly  into  the  circle.  Shouts 
welcome  him.  He  takes  the  maid  by  the  hand,  and  leads 
her  to  the  fatal  spot.  Her  back  is  placed  against  the 
stake ;  cords  are  brought,  and  she  is  bound  to  it.  The 
fagots  are  now  collected,  and  placed  round  the  victim. 
A  hopeless  expression  is  seen  in  her  eye — perhaps  a  tear ! 
Her  bosom  heaves,  and  her  thoughts  are  of  home.  A 
torch  is  seen,  coming  from  the  woods,  hard  by.  At  that 
moment  a  young  brave  leaps  into  the  circle — rushes  to  the 
stake — severs  the  cords  that  bind  the  victim  to  it,  and 
springing  on  a  horse,  and  throwing  her  upon  another,  and 
putting  both  to  the  top  of  their  speed,  is  soon  lost  in  the 
distance.  Silence  prevails — then  murmurs  are  heard,  and 
then  the  loud  threats  of  vengeance,  when  all  retire !  The 
stake  and  the  fagot  are  all  that  remain  to  mark  the  spot, 
on  which,  but  for  this  noble  deed,  ashes  and  charred  bones 
would  have  been  distinguished.  Who  was  it  that  intrepid- 
ly released  the  captive  maid  ?  It  was  the  young,  the  brave, 
the  generous  PETALESHARRO.  Whether  it  was  panic,  or 
the  dread  of  Letalashahou's  vengeance,  (LETALASHAHOU 
was  the  great  chief  of  the  Pawnees,  and  father  of  Petaleshar- 


ABORIGINES  OF  NORTH  AMERICA.  95 

ro)  that  operated  to  keep  the  warriors  from  employing 
their  bows  and  arrows,  and  rifles,  on  the  occasion,  is  not 
known ;  but  certain  it  is,  they  did  not  use  them. 

"  Having  borne  the  rescued  maid  into  the  broad  plains 
beyond  the  precincts  of  the  Pawnee  village,  and  supplied 
her  with  provisions,  he  admonished  her  to  make  the  best 
of  her  way  to  her  own  nation,  which  was  distant  about  four 
hundred  miles,  and  left  her.  She,  alive  to  her  situation, 
lost  no  time  in  obeying  such  salutary  counsel,  and  had  the 
good  fortune,  the  next  day,  to  fall  in  with  a  war-party 
of  her  own  people,  by  whom  she  was  safely  carried 
home." 

Can  the  records  of  chivalry  furnish  a  parallel  to  this  gen- 
erous act  ?  Can  the  civilized  world  bring  forward  a  case 
demonstrating  a  higher  order  of  humanity,  united  with 
greater  bravery  ?  Whence  did  the  youthful  Petalesharro 
learn  this  lesson  of  refined  pity  ?  Not  of  civilized  man. 
The  lessons  of  the  good  had  never  yet  reached  the  Paw- 
nees, to  instruct  them,  or  to  enrapture  their  thoughts  by 
such  beautiful  illustrations  of  the  merciful.  It  was  the  im- 
pulse of  nature : — nature,  cast  in  a  more  refined  mould,  and 
probably,  as  the  sequel  will  show,  nurtured  by  the  blood 
and  spirit  of  a  noble,  though  untaught  father. 

The  rescue  of  the  Itean  maid  happened  a  short  time  be- 
fore Petalesharro  was  deputed  to  Washington,  as  one  of 
a  deputation  on  matters  connected  with  the  interests  of  the 
Pawnee  nation.  His  visit  to  that  city,  was  in  1821.  "  He 
wore  a  head-dress  of  the  feathers  of  the  war-eagle,  which 
extended  in  a  double  series,  down  his  back,  to  his  hips, 
narrowing  as  it  descended.  His  robe  was  thrown  grace- 
fully, but  carelessly,  over  his  shoulders,  leaving  his  breast, 
and  often  one  arm,  bare.  The  usual  garments  decorated 
his  hips,  and  lower  limbs — these  were  the  auzeum,  the  leg- 
gins,  and  the  moccasins — all  ornamented.  The  youthful 
and  feminine  character  of  his  face,  and  the  humanity  of  its 
expression,  were  all  remarkable.  He  did  not  appear  to  be 


96  ON  THE   ORIGIN,  HISTORY,  &c.,  O?  THE 

older  than  twenty  years,  but  his  age  was  about  twenty-five. 
I  had  his  portrait  taken,  which  is  a  perfect  one. 

"  As  was  most  natural,  the  tidings  of  his  noble  deed  ac- 
companied Petalesharro  to  Washington.  Both  himself 
and  his  chivalry  became  the  theme  of  the  city.  The  la- 
dies, as  is  their  nature,  hastened  to  do  him  honor.  A 
medal  was  prepared,  and  a  time  appointed  for  conferring 
on  him  this  merited  gift.  An  assembly  had  collected  to 
witness  the  ceremony.  He  was  told,  in  substance,  that  the 
medal  was  given  him  in  token  of  the  high  opinion  which 
was  entertained  of  his  act,  in  the  rescue  of  the  Itean  maid. 
He  was  asked  by  the  ladies  who  presented  it,  to  accept, 
and  wear  it  for  their  sake  ;  and  told,  when  he  had  another 
occasion  to  save  a  captive  woman  from  torture,  and  from 
the  stake,  to  look  upon  the  medal,  think  of  those  who  gave 
it,  and  save  her,  as  he  had  saved  the  Itean  girl.  With 
that  grace  which  is  peculiar  to  the  Indian,  he  held  the 
prize  he  -had  so  nobly  won  before  him,  and  as  he  gazed 
upon  it,  thus  replied : — *  This  brings  rest  to  my  heart.  I 
feel  like  the  leaf,  after  a  storm,  and  when  the  wind  is  still. 
I  have  listened  to  you.  I  am  glad.  I  love  the  pale-faces 
more  than  ever  I  did,  and  will  open  my  ears  wider,  when 
they  speak.  I  am  glad  you  heard  of  what  I  did.  I  did  not 
know  the  act  was  so  good.  It  came  from  my  heart.  I 
was  ignorant  of  its  value.  I  now  know  how  good  it  was. 
You  make  me  know  it,  by  giving  me  this  medal.' 

"  The  rescue  of  the  Itean  girl  might,  if  a  solitary  act, 
be  looked  upon  as  the  result  of  impulse,  and  not  as  pro- 
ceeding from  a  generous  nature.  It  happens,  however, 
not  to  stand  alone,  as  the  only  instance  of  the  sort,  in  the 
life  of  Petalesharro.  One  of  his  brother  warriors  had 
brought  in  a  captive  boy.  He  was  a  Spaniard.  The 
captor  resolved  to  offer  him  as  a  sacrifice  to  the  great 
star.  The  chief  Letalashahou  had  been  for  some  time 
opposed  to  these  barbarous  rites.  He  sent  for  the  war- 
rior, and  told  him  he  did  not  wish  him  to  make  the  sacri- 


ABORIGINES  OF  NORTH  AMERICA.  97 

fice.  The  warrior  claimed  his  right,  under  the  immemo- 
rial usages  of  the  tribe.  They  parted.  Letalashahou 
sent  for  his  son,  and  asked  what  was  to  be  done  to  divert 
the  captor  from  his  purpose  ?  Petalesharro  replied 
promptly,  '  I  will  take  the  boy,  like  a  brave,  by  force.' 
The  father  thought,  no  doubt,  that  danger  would  attend 
upon  the  act,  and  resolved  on  a  more  pacific  mode.  It 
was  to  buy  the  boy.  This  intention  was  made  known, 
when  those  who  had  any  goods  of  any  kind,  brought  them 
to  the  chief's  lodge,  and  laid  them  down,  as  an  offering, 
on  the  pile  which  the  chief  had  supplied  from  his  own  li- 
mited stores.  The  captor  was  again  sent  for,  and  in  the 
authoritative  tone  of  the  chief  thus  addressed : — '  Take 
these  goods,  and  give  me  the  boy.'  He  refused,  when  the 
chief  seized  his  war-club,  and  flourished  it  over  the  head 
of  the  captor.  At  the  moment,  Petalesharro  sprang  for- 
ward, and  said — '  STRIKE  !  and  let  the  wrath  of  his  friends 
fall  upon  me? 

"  The  captor,  making  a  merit  of  necessity,  agreed,  if  a 
few  more  articles  were  added,  to  give  up  the  boy  to  the 
chief;  they  were  added,  and  the  boy  was  saved.  The 
goods  were  sacrificed  instead  of  the  boy.  The  cloth  was 
cut  into  shreds,  and  suspended  on  poles,  at  the  spot  upon 
which  the  blood  of  the  victim  had  been  proposed  to  be 
shed,  and  the  remainder  of  the  articles  were  burned.  No 
subsequent  attempt  to  immolate  a  victim  was  made.*  " 

*McKenney  &  Hall's  History  of  the  Aborigines  of  North  America. 


VOL.  n.  13 


98  ON  THE   ORIGIN,  HISTORY,  &c.,  OF  THE 


PART  IV. 

ATTENDED 

WITH     PROMISING     SUCCESS OBJECTIONS     TO     FURTHER 

EFFORTS  CONSIDERED  AND  ANSWERED. 

Higher  claims  of  the  Indian  upon  our  sense  of  justice — Recent  efforts  to  improve 
their  condition — Successful  as  far  as  carried  out — Broken  up  by  the  encroach- 
ments of  the  white  men — The  Indian  not  irreclaimable — Objection  considered 
— Educated  Indians  relapse  to  barbarism — Konkapot — Strong  attachment  to 
their  free  mode  of  life — Daniel  Boone — Chateaubriand  and  Philip  the  Recluse 
—The  force  of  instinct — Chateaubriand's  reflections  upon  the  narrative — His 
parallel  between  the  Frenchman  and  the  Indian — This  "  instinct"  not  peculiar 
to  Frenchmen — Not  even  confined  to  men — Inference — The  objection  as  good 
against  the  white  as  the  red  man — Another  objection — Great  expense  of  a 
system  of  education — Immense  gain  in  purchasing  the  Indian  territory — Appeal 
to  a  higher  principle. 

THESE  random  references  are  made  to  establish  the 
claims  of  the  Indian  to  be  considered  as  a  human  being, 
and  to  be  treated  as  such.  But  he  has  claims  of  another 
sort,  and  these  are  upon  our  magnanimity  and  justice. 
We  have  taken  from  them  their  country — despoiled  them 
of  the  loftiness  of  their  native  character,  by  infusing  into 
it  the  dregs  of  our  own — thus  disfiguring  and  making  a 
wreck  of  God's  own  image.  We  have,  when  they  resisted 
our  encroachments  upon  their  soil,  (a  pure  prompting  of 
nature  on  their  part,  and  as  justifiable  in  them  as  it  would 
be  in  us  to  repel  an  invasion,)  shot  them  down  like  dogs, 
hung  them  up  like  felons,  quartered  them  like  malefactors, 
and  even  put  a  price  upon  their  heads,  which,  when  severed 
from  their  bodies,  were  stuck  upon  gibbets,  their  bones 


ABORIGINES  OF  NORTH  AMERICA.  99 

being  left  to  whiten  the  soil,  and  decreed  as  unfit  for  the 
rites  of  sepulture  ! 

I  know  that  the  larger  portion  of  this  dark  coloring  was 
laid  on  the  picture  before  our  free  institutions  came  into 
play — before  the  light  that  now  shines  with  a  more  sof- 
tened influence,  had  broken  forth  in  its  beauty  and  ful- 
ness— before  Washington  commenced  the  humane  policy 
of  opening  a  government  trade  with  them,  expressly  for 
the  supply  of  their  wants,  without  reference  to  gain — 
before  Jefferson  sought  to  call  them  off  from  the  uncer- 
tainty of  the  chase,  growing  more  and  more  so  by  the 
increasing  scarcity  of  game,  and  to  attach  them  to  agri- 
culture and  the  arts — before  the  missionaries  of  modern 
times  began  to  cultivate  green  spots  in  the  desert — before 
Congress,  during  the  administration  of  Mr.  Monroe,  made 
an  appropriation  of  ten  thousand  dollars,  annually,  for  their 
enlightening  and  civilization — before  the  Moravians,  the 
Baptists,  the  Methodists  and  Episcopalians,  the  American 
Board  of  Commissions  for  Foreign  Missions ;  and  be- 
fore the  Quakers  and  Roman  Catholics,  all  combined, 
uniting  their  means  with  those  provided  by  Congress,  to 
establish  a  system  for  the  advancement  of  the  natives  in 
civilization,  in  the  arts,  and  in  religion. 

That  system  went  into  operation,  and  its  results  settled 
the  question,  in  my  opinion,  and  forever,  as  to  the  capaci- 
ty of  the  natives  to  profit  by  this  benevolence,  and  this 
teaching.  In  the  short  space  of  four  or  five  years,  eigh- 
teen hundred  Indian  children  were  collected,  whose  pro- 
gress in  learning,  and  acquiescence  in  the  restraints  which 
this  new  teaching  imposed,  would  compare  with  the  mosl 
prosperous  schools  among  ourselves.  I  speak  of  my  own 
knowledge ;  for  I  not  only,  as  Chief  of  the  Bureau  of  Indi- 
an Affairs,  at  Washington,  received  the  quarterly  returns 
showing  the  state  of  these  schools,  but  I  visited  them  all, 
from  Lake  Superior  to  Fort  Mitchell,  in  Alabama.  But 
this  system,  when  in  the  vigor  of  its  operations,  was,  by 


100          ON  THE  ORIGIN,  HISTORY,  &c.,  OF  THE 

the  expansive  power  of  our  settlements,  broken  up.  As  in 
the  beginning,  when  the  white  man  willed  it,  the  Indian 
must  fall  back !  His  hill-sides  and  valleys,  his  home,  which 
had  begun  to  blossom  with  delights,  and  the  graves  of  his 
fathers,  must  be  abandoned ;  and  he  must  submit,  and  turn 
his  back  upon  all  these,  and  upon  the  nurseries  of  educa- 
tion that  had  begun  to  dot  and  ornament  his  country,  to- 
wards the  setting  sun — there  to  find,  on  the  west  of  the 
Mississippi,  a  new  home,  at  which  to  linger,  till  another 
expansion  of  the  population  of  the  white  race  shall  take 
place,  and  another  upheaving  of  its  power  be  felt,  when, 
(unless  the  appropriate  means  be  adopted  to  stop  this  onward 
progress,  and  to  these  I  shall  refer  presently,)  he  will  be  start- 
ed again,  further  to  the  west;  and  yet  further,  "until  the 
waters  of  the  Pacific  shall  become  the  winding-sheet  of  the 
last  of  the  race  !"  And  in  this  way  has  system  after  sys- 
tem, (this  last,  however,  the  only  one  that  was  fitted  to  the 
occasion,  and  even  this  was  not  sufficiently  extended,  or 
adequately  sustained,  nor  was  it  based  on  the  right  princi- 
ple,) been  made  to  give  way  before  the  power  that  was 
mightier  than  any  the  Indian  could  bring  to  oppose  it — and 
then,  when  the  Indian  was  found  to  be  unreclaimed,  still, 
the  conclusion  is  arrived  at,  that  he  is  irreclaimable  !  The 
cause  is  not  in  the  Indian,  my  friends,  but  in  ourselves. 

But  I  am  met  by  another  objection.  When,  (it  is  ar- 
gued by  some,)  a  reformation  has  attended  the  labors  of 
the  missionary,  and  the  Indian  has  conferred  upon  him  all 
that  our  academies,  and,  in  some  instances,  our  colleges 
could  impart,  he  has  relapsed  into  his  former  state. 

I  admit  this  to  have  been  quite  a  common  result,  and  it 
is  still  one  of  occasional  occurrence.  KONKAPOT,  and  the 
protege  of  La  Fayette,  whom  he  took  with  him  to  France, 
both,  after  having  become  familiar  with  the  classics,  and  dis- 
coursed in  the  Greek  and  Roman  tongues,  returned  to 
their  original  attachments ;  and  putting  aside  the  polish, 
and  grace,  and  elegance  of  civilization,  returned  to  the 


ABORIGINES  OF  NORTH  AMERICA.  1Q1 

blanket,  the  moccasin,  and  the  wigwam.  But  is  there  any- 
thing surprising  in  this  ?  It  is  no  more  than,  under  the 
same  circumstances,  we  should  do ;  it  is  no  more  than  has 
been  done  by  at  least  one  polished  Parisian,  and  even  by 
well  instructed  females  of  our  own  country.  The  necessi- 
ty of  the  white  man  is  not  so  pressing,  thus  to  retrograde  ; 
nor  are  the  inducements  so  strong.  The  necessity  of  the 
case,  on  the  part  of  the  Indian,  arises  out  of  the  absence  of 
civilized  and  polished  society ; — when  he  goes  back 
among  his  people,  he  finds  none  of  this.  He  has  therefore 
either  to  remain  a  dumb,  isolated  object,  in  their  midst,  or 
fall  in  with  their  practices  and  modes  of  life,  he  having  no 
power  to  bring  them  up  to  his  standard.  The  white  man 
never  had,  in  his  youth,  tasted  the  fresh  enjoyments  of  the 
forest  home ;  and  never  experienced  the  freedom  of  that 
home,  from  restraint ;  knew  nothing  of  its  boundless  liber- 
ty, and  the  absence  of  its  cares.  The  Indian  knew  all  this ; 
and  had,  like  the  imprisoned  bird,  that  knew  how  sweet  it 
was  to  cleave  the  air,  and  mingle  with  the  songsters  of  the 
grove,  only  to  be  set  free  from  his  cage-confined  limits,  to 
feel  all  the  tide  of  his  early  happiness  and  early  associa- 
tions to  rush  in  upon  him,  bearing  him  again  amidst  those 
cherished  scenes.  And  yet,  without  these  attractions,  the 
white  man  has  preferred,  like  the  Indian,  the  newly  ac- 
quired relish  of  the  forest  life.  What  was  Daniel  Boone, 
in  all  the  essential  elements  of  his  character,  but  an  In- 
dian? 

CHATEAUBRIAND  has  recorded  an  anecdote  which  sheds 
much  light  on  this  question.  I  quote  his  words : 

"  When  I  was  travelling  through  the  wilds  of  America, 
I  was  not  a  little  surprised  to  hear  that  I  had  a  country- 
man established  as  a  resident,  at  some  distance,  in  the 
woods.  I  visited  him  with  eagerness,  and  found  him  em- 
ployed in  pointing  some  stakes,  at  the  door  of  his  hut.  He 
cast  a  look  towards  me,  (which  was  cold  enough,)  and  con- 
tinued his  work;  but  the  moment  I  addressed  him  in 


102  ON  THE  ORIGIN,  HISTORY,  &c.,  OF  THE 

French,  he  started  at  the  recollection  of  his  country,  and 
the  big  tear  stood  in  his  eye.  These  well-known  accents 
suddenly  roused  in  the  heart  of  the  old  man  all  the  sensa- 
tions of  his  infancy. 

"  Philip  (the  name  of  the  recluse)  entreated  me  to  enter 
his  dwelling,  and  I  followed  him.  He  had  considerable 
difficulty  in  expressing  what  he  meant.  I  saw  him  labor  to 
regain  the  ancient  ideas  of  civilized  man,  and  I  watched 
him  most  closely.  For  instance,  I  observed  that  there  were 
two  kinds  of  relative  things  absolutely  effaced  from  his 
mind,  viz :  that  of  any  superfluity  being  proper,  and  that 
of  annoying  others,  without  an  absolute  necessity  for  it.  I 
did  not  choose  to  put  my  grand  question  till  after  some 
hours  of  conversation  had  restored  to  him  a  sufficiency 
of  words  and  ideas.  At  last  I  said  to  him — 

"  Philip — are  you  happy  ?" 

"  He  knew  not,  at  first,  how  to  reply.  "  Happy,"  said  he, 
reflecting — "  happy  ? — Yes  ; — but  happy,  only,  since  I  be- 
came a  savage." 

"  And  how  do  you  pass  your  life  ?"  asked  I. 

He  laughed. 

44 1  understand  you,"  continued  I,  "  you  think  such  a  ques- 
tion unworthy  of  an  answer.  But  should  you  not  like  to 
resume  your  former  mode  of  living,  and  return  to  your 
country  ?" 

"  My  country — France  ?  If  I  were  not  so  old,  I  should 
like  to  see  it  again." 

"  And  you  would  not  remain  there  ?"  added  I. 

The  motion  of  Philip's  head  answered  my  question  suffi- 
ciently. "  But  what  induced  you,"  continued  I,  "  to  become 
what  you  call  a  savage  ?" 

"I  don't  know,  said  he — "instinct." 

"  This  expression,"  proceeds  Chateaubriand,  "  put  an  end 
to  my  doubts  and  questions.  I  remained  two  days  with  Phil- 
ip, in  order  to  observe  him,  and  never  saw  him  swerve  for 
a  single  moment  from  the  assertion  he  had  made.  His 


ABORIGINES  OF  NORTH  AMERICA.  1Q3 

soul,  free  from  the  conflict  of  the  social  passions,  appeared, 
in  the  language  of  the  savages  with  whom  he  dwelt,  calm 
as  the  field  of  battle,  after  the  warriors  had  smoked  to- 
gether their  calumet  of  peace." 

"  Is  it,"  asks  the  same  author,  in  another  place,  but  in  re- 
ference to  the  same  subject — "  is  it  that  the  extremes  of  a 
circle  meet,  and  that  the  highest  degree  of  civilization, 
being  the  perfection  of  the  art,  touches  closely  upon  na- 
ture ? — or  is  it  owing  to  a  sort  of  universal  talent,  and 
pliability  of  manners,  that  adapt  the  Frenchman  to  every  cli- 
mate, and  to  every  sphere  in  life  ?  Be  this  as  it  may,"  con- 
tinues our  author,  "  he  (the  Frenchman)  and  the  American 
Indian  possess  the  same  bravery,  the  same  indifference  to 
life,  the  same  improvidence  as  to  what  will  happen  to-mor- 
row, the  same  dislike  to  work,  the  same  inclination  to  be 
tired  of  good  things  which  they  possess,  the  same  incon- 
stancy in  love,  the  same  taste  in  dancing  and  for  war,  the 
fatigues  of  the  chase,  and  the  pleasures  of  the  forest. 
These  similarities  of  dispositions,  in  the  Frenchman  and 
Indian,  cause  in  them  a  great  inclination  towards  each  oth- 
er, and  easily  convert  the  inhabitant  of  Paris  into  the 
rambler  of  the  American  forests." 

But  this  inclination  towards  each  other,  in  the  French- 
man and  the  Indian,  is  not  confined  to  them.  It  is  found 
to  exist  (though  not  to  the  same  extent,  I  admit,)  in  the 
English  and  the  Americans — and  not  in  the  men,  only,  but 
in  women.  When  at  Lake  Superior,  in  1826, 1  learned  that 
there  were,  about  five  hundred  miles  distant,  some  women 
who  had,  years  before,  been  taken  captives  by  the  Indians. 
I  made  an  arrangement  for  their  liberation  and  restoration 
to  their  homes  and  friends.  They  declined  the  offer,  pre- 
ferring their  present  condition. 

I  infer,  from  this,  that  the  civilized  is  not  the  state  most 
congenial  to  man,  and  that  his  instincts  and  his  tastes 
combine,  whether  he  be  white  or  red,  to  attach  him  to  the 
repose  and  indolence  of  a  state  of  nature.  The  conclu- 


104  ON   THE  ORIGIN,  HISTORY,  &c.,  OF  THE 

sion  is,  that  if  this  relapsing  tendency  to  a  forest  life  is 
proof  of  a  disqualifying  power  in  the  Indian  to  continue, 
when  placed  there,  in  the  higher  condition  of  the  civilized 
state,  it  is  proof,  no  less  conclusive,  that  we  are,  also,  dis- 
qualified ;  and  cannot,  ourselves,  retain  that  elevation.  But 
it  is  not  true  of  either. 

But  I  am  met  by  another  objection :  it  is,  that  the  cost 
of  the  undertaking,  upon  a  scale  commensurate  with  the 
object  contemplated,  would  be  too  great,  and  therefore  it 
ought  not  to  be  attempted. 

There  can  be  no  successful  reasoning  with  any  one  who 
puts  money  in  competition  with  the  happiness  of  any  portion 
of  the  human  race.  But  even  here  a  balance-sheet  may 
be  struck,  and  there  will  be  found  means  enough  coming, 
not  of  ours,  but  of  the  Indian's  own  providing,  to  accom- 
plish the  great  work  of  his  political  and  civil  reformation ; 
and  not  that,  only,  but  for  his  establishment  amidst  the  com- 
forts of  domestic,  and  social  and  religious  life,  and  enough, 
besides,  to  form  a  barrier  to  his  onward  progress  to  the 
west,  and  to  annihilation.  This  country  was  once  owned 
by  the  Indians.  It  is  now  ours.  At  what  cost  ?  Why, 
including  all  our  expenditures,  and  of  every  sort,  for  and 
on  account  of  the  Indians,  we  have  succeeded  to  this 
country,  and  become  owners  of  it,  at  a  price  not  exceed- 
ing two  cents  and  three-quarters  the  acre  /*  But  this  is  cold 
calculation.  It  does  not  harmonize  with  the  genial,  soul- 
elevating  influences  of  the  age  in  which  we  live.  Oh,  no ! 
It  is,  or  ought  to  be,  enough  for  us  to  know,  that  three 
hundred  thousand  of  OUR  BRETHREN  are  perishing,  and 
that  they  were  made,  as  we  are  made,  in  God's  image ; 
and  that  from  their  possessions  "  our  liberal  fortunes  took 

*  Even  within  the  last  forty  years,  the  United  States  have  extinguished  the 
Indian  title  to  four  hundred  and  thirty  millions  of  acres  of  land,  at  a  cost  of 
eighty-two  millions  of  dollars,  which  lands,  if  limited  to  the  present  low  govern- 
ment price  of  one  dollar  and  a  quarter  per  acre,  have  brought,  if  sold,  into  the 
treasury  the  enormous  sum  of  FOUR  HUNDRED  AND  FIFTY-FIVE  MILLIONS  FIVE 
HUNDRED  THOUSAND  DOLLARS  more  than  the  original  cost. 


ABORIGINES  OF  NORTH  AMERICA.  1Q5 

their  rise."  Oh !  "  it  ill  befits"  these  forest  rovers  "  thus 
to  pick  the  very  refuse  (and  not  permitted  even  to  pick 
that)  of  those  fields"  which  once  were  theirs.  Let  us  think 
of  them — feel  for  them — as  brethren,  and  act  towards 
them  as  such ;  for  there  is  not  one  of  them  who  cannot 
say  with  truth — 

"  I  was  born  of  woman,  and  drew  milk, 
As  sweet  as  charity,  from  human  breasts. 
I  think,  articulate — I  laugh,  I  weep, 
And  exercise  all  functions  of  a  man. 

Pierce  my  vein — 

Take  of  the  crimson  stream  meand'ring  there, 
And  catechise  it  well.     Apply  the  glass- 
Search  it,  and  prove,  now,  if  it  be  not  blood, 
Congenial  with  thine  own  ;  and  if  it  be, 
What  edge  of  subtlety  canst  thou  suppose 
Keen  enough,  wise  and  skilful  as  thou  art, 
To  cut  the  link  of  brotherhood,  by  which 
One  common  Maker  bound  me  to  the  kind  ?" 


VOL.  TI.  14 


PRESERVATION  OF  THE  INDIANS. 


A  PLAN  FOR  THE  PRESERVATION  AND  HAPPINESS  OF  THE 
REMNANTS  OF  THE  ABORIGINAL  RACE,  AND  FOR  THE 
CONSOLIDATION  OF  PEACE  BETWEEN  THEM  AND  US. 

The  plan  stated — Reasons  why  missionary  labors  have  proved  so  comparatively 
unsuccessful — A  chief  of  Lake  Superior — His  views  of  education  upon  his 
little  son — McDonald,  the  Choctaw  youth — His  personal  appearance,  accom- 
plished manners,  moral  worth,  and  high  attainments  in  learning — His  academic 
and  law  studies — His  appointment  as  one  of  a  delegation  to  Washington — 
Great  power  over  the  subjects  connected  with  his  mission — His  fall — Recovery 
— Commences  the  practice  of  the  law — A  letter  from  him — Proposals  of  mar- 
riage— His  tragic  end — Anomalous  relations  between  the  whites  and  Indians  the 
great  barrier  to  their  reformation — Review  of  past  labors  in  their  behalf — 
The  present  homeless  condition  of  the  Indians — No  right  in  the  soil — This 
right  essential  to  their  advancement — No  nation  ever  advanced  in  civilization 
without  it — The  present  the  only  period  when  this  right  could  be,  without 
trouble  and  great  embarrassment,  if  at  all,  conferred — Providence — The  doctrine 
of  retribution — Probable  consequences  of  our  omission  to  do  this  down-trodden 
race  justice — The  nature  of  the  war,  should  it  occur — Devastating — Costly  in 
blood  and  treasure — An  appeal. 

I  WILL  now  offer  a  PLAN  for  the  protection,  preservation, 
and  future  well-being  of  the  remnants  of  this  ill-fated  race. 
It  is  simply  this :  to  connect  "  THE  INDIAN  TERRITORY,"  as 
it  is  named  and  defined  on  our  maps,  and  which  lies  west 
of  the  western  confines  of  Missouri  and  Arkansas,  to  the 
United  States,  and  by  precisely  the  same  tie  which  binds 
Iowa  to  the  Union,  and  which  has  hitherto  bound  other 
Territories  ;  giving  to  the  Indians  the  same  fee-simple  title 
to  the  soil,  and  the  same  privileges,  present  and  prospect- 
ive, embracing  that  ultimate  one  of  becoming  a  State, 
that  are  enjoyed  by  the  citizens  of  Iowa,  and  that  were 
possessed  by  the  citizens  of  Michigan  and  other  Territo- 
ries, when  occupying  a  territorial  relation  to  the  Union. 


PRESERVATION  OF  THE  INDIANS.  107 

It  would  seem  almost  superfluous  to  enlarge  upon  the 
proposition,  or  illustrate  the  effects  which  these  relations 
would  produce  on  the  Indians  and  their  destiny.  A  new 
and  hitherto  unfelt  impulse  would  be  at  once  given  to  all 
the  higher  and  nobler  elements  of  their  nature,  which 
could  not  fail  of  raising  them  in  a  very  short  time,  as  a 
race,  upon  the  same  platform  with  ourselves.  Our  des- 
tiny, jn  a  word,  would  be  their  destiny. 

It  has  been  for  the  want  of  these  elements,  which  are 
known  to  be  so  potent  in  the  elevation  and  ennobling  of 
man,  that  the  Indians  have  been  so  long,  and  are  to  this  hour, 
wasting  away.  Missionary  labors  have  been  employed,  for 
over  two  hundred  years,  among  these  people ;  and,  as  I 
have  frequently  remarked,  always  with  partial  success — 
that  is,  the  few  natives  upon  whom  the  Gospel  influences 
could  be  brought  to  bear,  have  always  been  more  or  less 
influenced  by  them.  But  we  have  only  to  look  at  the 
wasting  away  of  the  Indians — their  almost  total  disappear- 
ance from  the  east  of  the  Mississippi,  and  see  them  as  they 
are,  in  the  west,  with  some  exceptions,  remaining  Indians 
still,  to  be  convinced  that  by  far  the  larger  portion  of 
what  was  sought  to  be  accomplished,  has  failed  of  the 
success  which  was  hoped  for,  furnishing  at  the  same 
time  the  most  incontrovertible  evidence  that  there  was 
something  lacking — some  vital  element  not  embraced  in 
the  plans  and  systems  which  have  been  so  long  relied  upon 
for  the  reformation  of  the  Indians,  as  a  race ;  and  yet  we 
see  these  same  plans,  without  addition  or  amendment, 
kept  in  operation,  just  as  if  the  experience  of  the  past  was 
of  no  sort  of  moment ;  or  if  the  same  causes  had  reversed 
the  order  of  their  action,  and,  in  opposition  to  the  laws  of 
nature,  would  produce  other  than  the  same  effects  that 
have  followed  them  for  over  two  centuries. 

Missionary  labors  are,  I  admit,  indispensable  ;  but  they 
will  never  produce  any  other  results,  in  the  future,  upon  and 
among  our  Indians,  than  they  have  in  the  past,  unless  they 


108  PRESERVATION  OF  THE  INDIANS. 

can  be  made  to  operate  upon  other,  higher,  and  more 
dignified  elements  than  have  hitherto  enshrined  the  Indi- 
an's hopes,  and  characterised  his  condition.  I  will  illus- 
trate by  an  anecdote.  A  chief  of  Lake  Superior,  hold- 
ing by  the  hand  a  fine  little  boy,  about  ten  years  old,  I  in- 
quired of  him  why  he  did  not  send  his  son  to  school,  at 
Mackinac  ?  "  What  for  ?"  inquired  the  old  chief.  To 
learn  of  the  white  man,  I  answered,  how  to  till  the  ground, 
and  make  the  grain  grow,  and  potatoes  and  corn ;  and 
how  to  talk  on  paper,  and  to  understand  more  about  the 
Great  Spirit,  and  the  world  to  come 

The  old  chief  interrupted  me,  saying :  "  Father,  all 
you  say  is  good  ;  but  I  do  not  want  the  eyes  of  my  boy 
made  any  bigger  than  they  are.  I  want  them  to  remain 
small.  If  he  gets  them  opened,  what  will  he  see  ?  He 
will  see  how  big  the  white  man  is,  and  how  little  the  red 
man.  He  will  see  how  the  white  man  has  trampled  upon 
the  red  man,  taken  away  his  lands  from  him,  stolen  his 
beaver,  and  done  many  such  things  to  make  the  red  man 
miserable.  The  white  man  is  strong — the  red  man  is  weak. 
I  do  not  want  my  boy  to  see  this  any  sooner  than  it  is 
forced  upon  him.  He  will  learn  it  all  soon  enough." 

But  suppose  this  chief,  with  that  same  little  boy,  to  be 
in  the  Indian  Territory,  after  it  was  connected  to  the 
United  States,  and  I  should  ask  him  why  he  did  not  send  his 
boy  to  school  there ;  what,  think  you,  would  be  his  answer  ? 
It  would  be,  "  Take  him."  But  why  take  him,  and  school 
him,  now  ?  "  Because  his  privileges  and  the  privileges  of 
the  white  man  are  the  same.  His  oath  will  be  taken  in  a 
court  of  justice ;  he  can  call  the  land  his  own,  and  be  no 
more  driven  from  it ;  he  can  rise  to  command  your  army  and 
your  navy — he  can  go  to  the  Legislature  and  to  Congress — 
he  can  be  a  judge  of  your  courts  of  law,  be  governor,  and 
President  of  the  United  States.  Take  him,  educate  him,  and 
qualify  him  for  this  high  destiny."  That  would  be  the  effect 
of  the  plan  I  have  proposed  ;  nor  is  there  an  Indian,  any- 


PRESERVATION  OF  THE  INDIANS.  109 

where,  who  would  not  feel  its  force,  and  seek  to  place 
himself  within  reach  of  its  certain  effects  upon  his  destiny. 

I  have  a  case  which  will  show  in  a  stronger  light  than 
all  the  reasoning  I  can  bring  to  bear  on  the  subject,  the 
destructive  effects  upon  the  Indians  of  the  anomalous  rela- 
tions that  have,  from  the  beginning,  and  which  yet  exist, 
between  them  and  us. 

I  was  in  my  office  at  Washington,  as  Chief  of  the  Bu- 
reau of  Indian  Affairs,  when,  my  messenger  opening  the 
door,  an  old  and  valued  friend  of  mine,  Philip  E.  Thomas, 
Esq.,  of  Baltimore,  entered,  accompanied  by  a  youth, 
who  was  introduced  to  me  by  my  friend  as  a  Choctaw, 
named  James  Lawrence  McDonald.  The  object  of  the 
visit  was  to  procure  for  the  youth  the  patronage  of  the 
government,  and  to  place  him  under  my  care.  As  the 
subject  was  discoursed  about,  I  could  see  in  the  fine  eye  of 
McDonald  that  expression  in  which  hope  and  fear  alter- 
nate, and  that  much  anxiety  was  felt  as  to  the  result  of 
the  application.  At  last  I  said,  this  will  very  much  depend 
upon  the  wishes  of  the  youth  himself,  when  a  gleam  of 
gladness  darted  across  his  face,  and  a  smile  told,  before  he 
spoke,  what  his  wishes  were.  He  said,  and  in  accents 
tremulous,  and  with  a  voice  somewhat  subdued  by  his  agi- 
tated feelings,  that  it  was  what  he  desired.  He  had 
heard  his  chiefs,  PTJCKSHENUBBIE  and  PUSHMATAHA,  speak 
of  me  as  the  red  man's  friend,  and  he  would  like  to  be 
with  me.  I  soon  relieved  him  of  the  last  vestige  of  his 
doubts,  by  saying  to  Mr.  Thomas  I  would  adopt  the 
youth,  and  that  he  might  consider  him  from  that  moment 
under  my  protection. 

This  arrangement  being  made,  Mr.  Thomas  returned  to 
Baltimore,  and  McDonald  accompanied  me,  that  afternoon, 
to  WESTON,  my  residence,  on  the  heights  of  Georgetown, 
where  he  was  introduced  to  my  family,  a  room  was  as- 
signed to  him,  and  all  necessary  accommodations  provided. 
My  son  and  McDonald  were  nearly  of  the  same  age,  about 


HO  PRESERVATION  OF  THE  INDIANS. 

fourteen,  I  believe.     They  soon  became  intimate,  and  mu- 
tually attached  to  each  other. 

I  selected  for  McDonald's  preceptor  the  Rev.  Dr.  Carna- 
han,  who  fills  at  this  time,  with  so  much  usefulness  to  the 
public,  and  honor  to  himself,  the  distinguished  office  of 
President  of  Princeton  College,  at  that  time  principal  of 
an  academy  in  Georgetown.  A  short  time  after  McDonald 
became  an  inmate  of  my  family,  he  was  a  pupil  in  this 
academy. 

I  soon  discovered  that  there  were  qualities  of  both  heart 
and  head  in  this  youth  of  rare  excellence,  and  that  nature 
had  bestowed  on  him  not  only  personal  lineaments  of  un- 
common beauty,  but  a  manner  and  action  altogether 
graceful  and  captivating.  His  motions  were  all  harmony. 
Whether  he  walked,  or  ran,  or  sat  down,  or  rose  up,  it 
was  all  with  a  manner  so  unrestrained  and  easy,  as  might 
have  led  a  stranger  to  suppose  he  had  been  taught  by  the 
most  experienced  of  posture-masters.  But  it  was  wholly 
the  development  of  nature.  To  these  personal  endow- 
ments was  superadded  a  manner  the  most  winning  and 
gracious,  and  a  morality  that  I  never  saw  invaded. 
There  was  more  beauty  in  the  expression  than  in  the  linea- 
ments of  his  face,  that  being  strongly  marked  with  the 
characteristics  which  distinguish  his  race.  His  head  was 
finely  developed,  but  his  forehead  was  compressed ;  his 
eyes  were  black,  and  full  of  expression ;  his  nose  less  of 
the  Roman  than  usual ;  his  cheek-bones  high  ;  his  mouth, 
which  was  supplied  with  fine  teeth,  was  well  formed  and 
expressive,  though  moderately  large,  whilst  his  jaws  were 
wide.  His  voice  was  musical  in  a  high  degree. 

I  soon  discovered  that  McDonald  was  bent  on  distin- 
guishing himself.  His  book  was  his  constant  companion ; 
whether  on  the  road,  going  to  or  returning  from  school, 
or  in  the  garden,  or  the  fields,  or  in  alcove,  or  grove,  it 
was  in  his  hand,  or  about  his  person.  I  was  proud  of  my 
charge  ;  and  often,  when  I  have  seen  him  and  my  son  in- 


PRESERVATION  OF  THE  INDIANS. 

dulging,  over  my  grounds,  in  the  pastimes  of  youth,  has 
my  heart  throbbed  with  delight,  at  the  promised  destiny 
of  this  poor  Indian  boy.  He  became  warmly  attached  to 
me,  and  to  my  family  ;  and  was  the  idol  of.  my  servants, 
and  the  beloved  of  his  school-fellows,  and  of  all  who  knew 
him.  I  made  no  distinction  between  him  and  my  son,  in 
dress  or  attentions.  He  had  a  horse  at  his  service,  when 
he  chose  to  ride ;  took  a  seat  with  my  family  in  the  coach, 
rode  with  us  to  church,  and  visited  where  we  did ;  and 
was  never  overlooked,  in  any  of  those  social  relations  in 
which  we  indulged,  whether  in  or  out  of  Washington. 

McDonald  had  been  for  some  time  with  his  preceptor, 
before  anything  had  passed  between  this  gentleman  and 
myself,  as  to  the  progress  of  his  pupil ;  when  one  day  we 
met.  I  thought  I  saw  something  serious  in  his  counte- 
nance. He  had  scarcely  gone  through  with  the  customary 
civilities,  when  he  said — "  Really,  Colonel,  I  do  not  know 
what  I  shall  do  with  McDonald."  Instantly  I  feared  some 
latent  Indian  quality  had  burst  forth,  and  that  all  my  high 
hopes  were  to  be  destroyed.  Seeing  this  in  my  coun- 
tenance, as  I  suppose,  Doctor  Carnahan  continued — 
"  Well,  the  difficulty  is  one  which  I  will  try  and  remedy. 
It  is  this  :  he  comes  to  school  with  his  lessons  all  so  well 
digested,  and  with  more  Latin,  and  Greek,  and  mathema- 
tics in  one  of  them,  than  the  class  I  attached  him  to  can 
get  through  in  a  week,  so  I  have  put  him  in  a  class  by 
himself." 

My  relief  was  as  instant,  as  my  gratification  was  per- 
fect. For  about  three  years  did  this  youth  continue  his 
studies,  without  any  relaxation  of  his  devotion  to  them,  or 
in  any  single  instance  departing  from  that  line  of  conduct 
that  had  so  endeared  him  to  me. 

When  about  finishing  his  academical  course,  I  one  day 
asked  Mr.  Calhoun,  at  that  time  Secretary  of  War,  what 
I  should  do  with  McDonald.  "  Make  a  lawyer  of  him," 
was  his  prompt  reply.  I  had  thoughts  of  this  myself,  but 


112  PRESERVATION  OF  THE  INDIANS. 

really  feared  to  place  him  in  any  of  our  cities,  lest  his  mo- 
rals might  become  corrupted ;  when  it  occurred  to  me  that 
Mr.  McLean,  then  a  member  of  Congress,  and  now  one  of 
the  judges  of  the  Supreme  Court,  from  being  often  at 
my  house,  and  knowing  McDonald  well,  might  consent  to 
take  him  with  him  to  Ohio,  and,  in  his  law  office  there,  su- 
perintend his  law  education.  I  inquired  of  him  to  this  ef- 
fect, and  got  for  answer,  that  he  would  take  charge  of  him 
most  cheerfully. 

I  had  not  yet  spoken  to  McDonald  on  the  subject  of  his 
future  studies,  nor  made  any  inquiry  of  him  as  to  his  pre- 
ference in  regard  to  a  profession,  or  occupation  of  any  sort. 
Being  one  afternoon  seated  in  my  piazza,  McDonald  step- 
ped in  from  one  of  the  doors  leading  thereto,  with  one  hand 
on  his  forehead,  and  the  other  in  his  bosom,  and  made,  with 
great  agitation  of  manner,  a  turn  or  two,  without  noticing 
that  I  was  there ;  when,  with  a  deep  sigh,  his  hand  fell 
from  his  forehead,  and  he  stood  for  a  moment  with  his 
back  to  me,  and  his  head  drooping,  then  turning,  saw  me, 
and  glided  back  into  the  drawing-room  whence  he  had 
come.  I  called  to  him.  He  came  to  me,  still  having  one 
hand  in  his  bosom.  Thinking  he  was  laboring  under  some 
private  grief,  I  concluded  I  would  call  off  his  attention 
from  it,  by  telling  him  of  the  profession  I  had  chosen  for 
him,  and  of  my  plans  for  his  future  studies.  I  did  so.  He 
listened  to  me  with  attention,  but  with  great  agitation. 
Having  informed  him,  he  looked  at  me  earnestly,  though 
affectionately,  and  said :  "  Wherefore  !  wherefore  !  Of 
what  use  to  me,  will  be  my  present  or  future  attainments  ? 
Oh,  sir,"  pressing  his  hand  against  his  forehead,  he  continued, 
"  it  will  be  all  lost  on  me."  I  told  him  I  could  not  see  why 
it  should  be ;  and  asked  him  what  had  led  him  to  that  con- 
clusion. Fetching  a  deep  sigh,  and  looking  at  me  with  a 
subdued  expression,  he  said :  " /  am  an  Indian"  Well, 
McDonald,  I  asked,  what  of  that  ?  "  Ah,  sir,  being  an  In- 
dian, I  am  marked  with  a  mark  as  deep  and  abiding  as  that 


PRESERVATION  OF  THE  INDIANS.  H3 

which  Cain  bore.  My  race  is  degraded — trodden  upon — 
despised."  Then  taking  from  his  bosom  the  hand  that  had 
been  all  the  while  in  it,  and  in  which  was  a  letter,  he  pre- 
sented the  letter  to  me,  saying :  "  Read  that,  sir,  if  you 
please." 

The  letter  was  from  his  brother,  who  was  a  lieutenant  in 
the  United  States  army,  I  believe,  and  who  was  named 
Thomas  Jefferson.  The  letter,  in  substance,  spoke  of  the 
receipt  of  several  from  his  brother ;  at  the  high  gratification 
he  felt  at  his  having  fallen  into  such  friendly  hands ;  also,  of 
his  improvement,  &c.,  but  concluded  by  telling  him  "  he 
had  one  of  two  things  to  do — either  throw  away  all  that  be- 
longed to  the  white  race,  and  turn  Indian ;  or  quit  being 
Indian,  and  turn  white  man.  The  first,  you  can  do;  the 
last,  it  is  not  in  your  power  to  do.  The  white  man  hates 
the  Indian,  and  will  never  permit  him  to  come  into  close 
fellowship  with  him,  or  to  be  a  participator  in  any  of  his 
high  prerogatives  or  distinguished  advantages." 

Having  read  this  letter,  I  told  him  I  thought  his  brother 
had  greatly  erred,  not  only  in  indulging  in  such  sentiments, 
but  in  expressing  them  as  he  had  done ;  and  asked  him  if, 
during  his  residence  with  me,  he  had  seen  anything  that 
would  authorize  such  conclusion  ?  "  Oh,  no,  sir ;  no,  sir," 
was  his  impassioned  reply — "  no,  indeed.  But  this  is  an 
exception,  and  serves  only  to  prove  the  rule.  You  are  to 
me  a  father.  My  gratitude  to  you,  and  your  family,  can 
never  die.  I  know  I  am  treated  with  the  greatest  atten- 
tion, even  to  tenderness."  The  tears  came  to  his  eyes, 
his  utterance  was  choked,  and  he  sat  down  by  my  side, 
pressing  his  handkerchief  to  his  face,  literally  wetting  it 
with  his  tears. 

After  a  while  he  spoke.  "  Yes,  sir,"  he  said,  "  I  will  go 
to  Ohio,  and  with  Mr.  McLean;  and  will  read  law,  and 
will  qualify  myself.  I  will  do  anything  that  it  may  be  your 
pleasure  for  me  to  do ;  I  should  be  indeed  an  ingrate  to 

VOL.  n.  15 


114  PRESERVATION  OF  THE  INDIANS. 

thwart  your  kind  designs  towards  me  in  anything.  But 
the  seal  is  upon  my  destiny" 

The  time  being  near  at  hand,  that  McDonald  was  to  set 
out  for  Ohio,  I  told  him  to  fix  upon  a  day  most  agreeable  to 
himself,  and  invite  to  dine  with  him  as  many  of  his  school- 
fellows, and  friends,  as  he  might  think  proper ;  to  let  me 
know  the  day,  and  I  would  put  the  servants  and  all  things 
necessary  for  the  festival  at  his  disposal.  It  was  all  done 
accordingly  ;  and  the  day  coming  soon  after,  when  he  was 
to  leave  me,  I  saw  him  growing  sad.  His  countenance 
lost  its  brightness,  and  he  would  stroll  alone  among  his  fa- 
vorite walks  in  the  garden,  the  woods,  and  by  a  streamlet 
in  a  deep  glen,  by  which  he  used  to  sit  conning  over  his 
lessons,  and  where  he  would  remain  for  hours,  listening  to 
the  gurgling  of  the  waters,  the  singing  of  birds,  and  the  rust- 
ling of  the  leaves,  as  the  breeze  played  among  them. 
The  evening  preceding  the  morning  of  his  intended  de- 
parture arrived.  His  trunks  were  packed.  Orders  had 
been  given  to  the  servants  to  see  to  their  being  at  my 
outer  gate,  in  time  for  the  stage,  as  it  passed  in  the  morn- 
ing, before  daybreak,  on  its  way  to  the  west. 

I  was  at  my  table,  reading  ;  my  family  were  in  a  wing 
of  the  building,  preparing  to  retire  for  the  night ;  McDonald 
was  walking  in  the  saloon.  Presently  he  made  a  short 
turn,  and  coming  hastily  up  to  me,  said — "  Is  it  necessary, 
sir,  that  I  should  leave  to-morrow  ?"  Not  at  all,  I  re- 
plied, nor  next  day,  nor  for  a  week,  if  it  is  your  pleasure 
to  delay  your  departure.  "  Thank  you,  sir,"  with  one  of 
his  graceful  bows,  was  his  response  ;  when  he  turned  and 
went  out,  saying,  as  he  passed  through  the  door,  "  IPs  hard 
to  part  /" 

Another  day  was  fixed  upon,  a  week  or  so  ahead. 
The  evening  of  that  day  arriving,  the  same  arrangements 
were  made  as  before.  I  was  again  at  my  desk,  reading ; 
my  family  had  retired,  as  before,  and  McDonald  was  again  in 


PRESERVATION  OF  THE   INDIANS.  H5 

the  saloon,  walking  to  and  fro ;  when,  suddenly,  he  came 
from  it,  and  with  quick  step  advanced  towards  me.  For  a 
moment  he  stood  motionless,  his  eyes  fixed  on  mine. 
Tears  began  to  fill  them,  when  he  reached  out  his  hand, 
and  taking  mine,  held  it,  saying,  "  Farewell,  best  of  fa- 
thers!" Then  turning  short  about,  he  went  from  the 
room  into  the  wing  of  the  building  to  which  my  family 
had  retired.  I  heard  him  rap  at  the  door.  It  was  opened. 
Presently  he  returned,  and  continued  on  through  the  sa- 
loon to  his  room  in  the  other  wing  of  the  building.  I 
heard  him  shut  the  door,  when  all  was  still. 

His  leave-taking  of  my  family  was  pretty  much  of  the 
same  character  as  it  had  been  with  me,  except  that  he 
employed  looks  and  tears,  but  no  language.  His  feelings 
so  oppressed  him,  that  he  could  not  speak. 

The  following  morning  I  went  to  his  room.  How  lonely 
was  everything,  and  what  a  sense  of  bereavement  op- 
pressed me !  There  was  his  chair,  his  couch,  his  table, 
and  his  bed.  All  was  silence  !  On  the  table  lay  two  let- 
ters ;  one  directed  to  Hon.  John  C.  Calhoun,  the  other  to 
myself.  They  were  letters  of  the  heart,  expressing,  in 
terms  of  most  grateful  sort,  his  obligations  for  the  kind- 
ness which  had  been  shown  him,  and  the  abiding  sense 
which  he  would  cherish  of  it.  Mr.  Calhoun  thought,  on 
reading  these  letters,  that  few  men,  no  matter  how  highly 
gifted,  or  thoroughly  educated,  could  excel  them,  in  either 
the  spirit  which  animated,  or  the  beauty  of  the  composi- 
tion that  characterised  them.  He  asked  to  have  both  to 
show  to  some  of  his  friends.  Being  desirous  of  inserting 
them  in  this  narrative,  I  sent  to  Mr.  Calhoun  for  them ; 
but  they  were  not  within  his  reach,  being  among  his  pa- 
pers in  South  Carolina. 

Arriving  at  the  point  of  his  destination,  he  commenced 
the  study  of  the  law,  with  his  new  patron,  according  to  ar- 
rangement. Such  was  his  capacity,  and  power  over  this 
science,  that  in  about  one-half  the  time  ordinarily  occu- 


116  PRESERVATION  OF  THE   INDIANS. 

pied  by  the  most  talented  of  the  young  men  of  our  race, 
he  had  gone  the  rounds  of  his  studies,  and  was  qualified 
for  the  bar. 

McDonald  had  often  expressed  a  desire  to  go  to  the 
Choctaw  country,  on  a  visit  to  his  mother.  Having 
completed  his  law  studies,  he  fulfilled  that  purpose, 
and  gratified  that  wish.  While  there,  a  delegation 
of  chiefs  was  selected,  to  come  to  Washington,  on 
business  of  high  importance — he  was  chosen  one  of 
the  delegates.  I  found  him  so  skilled  in  the  business 
of  his  mission,  so  prompt,  and  so  competent,  both  in 
verbal  discussions,  and  with  the  pen,  as  to  make  it  more 
of  an  up-hill  business  than  I  had  ever  before  experienced 
in  negotiating  with  Indians.  I  believe  Mr.  Calhoun,  who 
negotiated  the  treaty,  thought  so  too.  The  spectre,  I 
found,  yet  haunted  him.  A  conflict  between  his  Indian  caste 
and  his  hope  of  overcoming  it,  and  rising  above  its  effects 
upon  his  prospects,  shook  him  from  his  balance,  and  he 
fell  before  the  strife,  into  habits  of  intemperance — the  too 
usual  resort  of  the  unwary  to  drown  sorrow,  and  clear 
away  from  the  present  the  clouds  of  a  dreaded  destiny. 

I  sought  all  proper  opportunities  to  restore  him.  On 
one  occasion  I  detained  him  in  my  office,  after  the  rest  of 
the  delegation  had  retired,  and,  locking  the  door,  spoke  to 
him  on  his  fall  with  every  tenderness  that  I  could  employ. 
I  had  looked  to  him  as  the  crowning  of  my  hopes,  and 
trusted  to  see,  from  his  continued  good  example,  a  day-star 
arise  for  the  enlightening  of  his  race.  I  referred  to  those 
days  of  innocence,  and  honor,  and  bliss,  he  had  enjoyed  at 
Weston.  But  the  moment  I  spoke  of  these,  he  sprang 
from  his  seat,  saying — "  Spare  me  !  oh,  spare  me  !  It  is 
that  thought  that  makes  me  so  miserable.  I  have  lost  that 
sweet  home,  and  its  endearments ;  the  veil  that  was  so 
kindly  placed  between  me  and  my  Indian  caste,  has  since 
been  torn  away.  I  have  been  made  to  see  since,  that  I 
cannot,  whilst  such  anomalous  relations  exist  as  do  exist, 


PRESERVATION  OF  THE  INDIANS.  in 

between  the  red  and  the  white  race,  be  other  than  a  degra- 
ded outcast"  He  walked  the  floor  greatly  agitated,  and 
begged  me  to  allow  him  to  retire.  I  did  so,  expressing  the 
hope  that  I  might  see  him  soon,  at  Weston,  where  the 
same  kind  welcome  awaited  him,  that  he  had  always  found 
there.  "  Oh,  name  it  not  to  me,  sir,  I  can  never  go  there 
again !  The  very  thoughts  of  its  haunts  and  of  those  re- 
treats where  I  was  once  so  happy,  and  of  the  kindness 
shown  me  therer  being  met,  as  they  are,  and  crushed,  by 
the  consciousness  of  what  I  now  am,  distract  me — do  al- 
low me  to  retire." 

He  never  could  be  induced  to  visit  Weston.  He  re- 
covered himself,  however,  in  a  good  degree,  and  at  the 
close  of  the  negotiations,  left  Washington,  promising  me 
to  devote  himself  to  the  law,  and  try  yet  longer  to  brave 
his  destiny.  Shortly  after,  he  opened  his  law  office  in  Jack- 
son, Mississippi.  In  one  of  my  letters,  I  referred  to  him 
the  writing  of  the  life  of  Pushmataha,  whose  death  occur- 
red at  Washington  when  chief  of  the  delegation  to  which 
I  have  referred,  and  to  whom  reference  is  made  on  several 
occasions  in  this  work ;  and  whose  death-scene  furnishes 
one  of  the  embellishments  to  this  volume.  I  wanted  it  for 
my  large  work  on  "  the  History,  &c.,  of  the  Aborigines  of 
North  America."  I  subjoin  in  a  note  his  answer.*  From 

*  JACKSON,  MISSISSIPPI,  June  24th,  1831. 
To  COL.  THOMAS  L.  MCKENNEY,  Philadelphia  :— 

Dear  Sir — I  did  not  receive  your  favor  of  23d  May  until  yesterday,  and  I  ex- 
ceedingly regret  that  it  is  out  of  my  power  to  furnish  forth  the  life  of  Pushmataha, 
as  requested  by  you,  I  mean  that  it  is  out  of  my  power  to  do  it  immediately,  and 
in  time  for  the  July  number  of  the  work  which  you  have  taken  in  hand.  If  I 
could  now  see  Major  Pitchlynn,  and  spend  a  few  days  with  him,  I  am  sure  that  I 
could  get  some  curious  details  of  old  Push's  history,  and  such  as  I  think  would 
prove  interesting.  But  I  am  one  hundred  and  fifty  miles  from  Major  Pitchlynn, 
and  I  do  not  expect  to  see  him  for  several  months.  If  Pushmataha's  biography 
could  appear  with  propriety  in  some  subsequent  number  of  your  work — say  next 
winter  or  spring — I  will  endeavor  to  send  it  to  you. 

I  have,  at  different  times,  heard  various  incidents  of  Pushmataha's  life  related, 
well  worthy  of  commemoration  ;  but  my  recollection  of  them  is  not  as  distinct  as 
I  could  wish,  nor  could  I  put  them  down  chronologically.  He  was  distinguished 


118  PRESERVATION  OF  THE  INDIANS. 

it,  though  the  letter  bears  marks  of  having  been  written  in 
great  haste,  may  be  inferred  the  high  order  of  talent  which 
distinguished  this  young  man. 

His  prospects  in  Jackson  became  flattering.  When 
seeking  to  form  an  alliance  which  would  bring  happiness 
to  his  domestic  circle,  he  selected  a  lady  as  the  one  in  whom 
the  elements  seemed  to  centre  for  the  securing  of  what  he 
sought  after.  On  making  his  proposal,  it  was  rejected 
with  promptness,  and,  as  he  thought,  with  scorn.  In  a 
moment  his  caste  came  before  him.  "You  are  an  Indian, 
and  degraded,"  rang  in  his  ears.  Hope  fled — despair  as- 
sumed dominion  over  him.  All  that  his  brother  had  writ- 
ten to  him,  was  now  seen  by  him  to  be  reality.  The  spec- 

in  early  life  as  a  warrior,  and  in  the  first  or  second  battle  in  which  he  was  ever 
engaged,  he  is  said  to  have  produced  the  scalps  of  five  or  six  warriors  whom  he 
had  slain  with  his  own  hand.  His  earlier  contests  were  principally  with  the 
Osages,  or  Washashe ;  and  on  one  occasion  he  was  surrounded,  with  less  than  a 
dozen  followers,  in  a  vast  prairie,  by  a  band  of  about  two  hundred  Osages,  against 
whom  he  maintained  an  undaunted  contest  of  more  than  an  hour's  duration,  un- 
til the  enemy,  struck  with  some  unaccountable  panic,  retreated.  Pushmataha 
commanded  a  large  party  of  Choctaws  during  the  last  war,  under  General  Jack- 
son, and  did  his  duty  ;  but  had  no  opportunity  of  signally  distinguishing  himself. 

He  was,  however,  chiefly  distinguished  for  his  eloquence.  His  style  of  speak- 
ing, whether  in  public  or  in  private,  was  nervous  and  highly  figurative,  and  his 
talent  at  repartee  was,  I  think,  unequalled.  I  never  knew  him  at  a  moment's 
loss  for  an  apt  answer  to  any  question,  whether  serious  or  jocose.  He  was  face- 
tious rather  than  sarcastic,  and  he  was,  generally  speaking,  the  soul  of  good  hu- 
mor. He  was  slow  to  anger,  but  when  aroused,  as  fierce  as  a  tiger ;  of  which, 
however,  I  never  saw  but  one  or  two  instances  in  all  my  acquaintance  with  him. 

He  was,  indeed,  an  extraordinary  man,  and  I  wish  that  justice  could  be  done 
him.  You  might  safely  say  of  him,  that  his  intellect  was  of  the  highest  order — 
his  perceptions  rapid — his  eloquence  persuasive  or  commanding,  and  his  courage 
unconquerable.  He  was  generous  even  to  prodigality,  and  continued  through 
life  poor,  when  he  might  have  become  rich. 

I  should  be  highly  pleased  to  hear  of  the  success  of  your  arduous  and  praise- 
worthy undertaking. 

Respectfully  your  friend, 

and  obedient  servant, 

J.  L.  MCDONALD. 

P.  S. — Col.  Silas  Dinsmoor,  of  Cincinnati,  and  Col.  John  McKee,  of  Tusca- 
loosa,  Alabama,  can  both,  I  am  confident,  furnish  you  very  valuable  materials 
for  your  work,  especially  as  regards  the  Cherokees,  Chickasaws  and  Choctaws. 


PRESERVATION  OF  THE  INDIANS.  H9 

tre  was  too  formidable  for  his  power  of  resistance — 
he  rushed  to  the  river,  sprang  off  a  bluff,  and  drowned 
himself! 

In  this  brief  sketch  of  the  life,  character,  and  tragic  end 
of  this  gifted  and  accomplished  youth,  may  be  seen  the 
elements  that  have  operated  so  destructively  upon  the  hap- 
piness and  lives  of  his  race.  They  did  not,  however,  reach 
the  intensity  of  their  action,  until  years  after  the  jurisdic- 
tional  lines  of  our  states  and  territories  were  thrown  around 
them.  The  work  of  Indian  destruction  had  been  hitherto 
carried  on  by  wars,  by  the  small-pox,  by  drunkenness,  and 
the  various  other  plagues  which  our  race  carried  in  among 
them.  To  have  withstood  either  of  these  plagues,  and 
overcome  it,  was  not  given  to  the  Indian  to  do ;  whilst  to 
have  resisted  them  all,  in  combination,  or  in  the  rapid  suc- 
cession with  which  they  were  made  to  assail  his  race,  im- 
plies the  possession  of  a  power  more  than  human. 

Wars  may  be  endured,  and  their  effects  recovered  from ; 
the  pestilence  may  be  outlived,  and  even  the  traces  of  its 
ravages,  in  the  lapse  of  time,  be  obliterated — even  famine, 
if  it  slay  not  all,  may  be  so  far  lost  sight  of,  as  to  leave  on 
the  minds  of  survivors  nothing  more  than  the  mournful 
memory  of  a  thing  that  had  been — but  when  the  human 
heart  is  transfixed  by  the  arrows  of  despotism,  and  the  re- 
lentless hand  of  tyranny  presses  any  people  to  the  earth, 
dispossessing  them  of  country  and  home,  and  depriving 
them  of  all  the  privileges  of  the  free  ;*  and  by  an  edict 

*  I  introduce  this  note  at  this  place,  for  the  double  purpose  of  showing  the  order 
of  intellect  displayed  by  McDonald  in  carrying  on  the  negotiations  at  Washing- 
ton, at  the  time  to  which  I  have  referred,  and  of  placing  before  the  reader  his 
views,  and  the  views  of  his  associates,  of  the  debasing  character  of  those  anoma- 
lous relations  of  which  I  have  spoken.  These  views  upon  this  subject  are  con- 
tained in  the  last  paragraph  of  the  "  Application  of  the  Choctaw  tribe  for  aid  from 
the  United  States  to  improve  their  condition,  communicated  to  the  Senate,  Feb- 
ruary 21,  1825." 

WASHINGTON,  February  18, 1825. 
SIR— The  enclosed  is  an  address  from  the  Choctaw  delegation  now  in  this  city 


120  PRESERVATION  OF  THE   INDIANS. 

from  which  there  is  felt  to  be  no  appeal,  consigning  them 
to  degradation,  allowing  them  no  privileges  in  common 
with  those  who  lord  it  over  them,  there  can  be  no  hope 
that  any  people,  thus  circumstanced,  can  long  survive. 

to  the  Congress  of  the  United  States.  Be  pleased  to  present  it  to  the  Senate,  and 
much  oblige  Yours,  very  respectfully, 

J.  L.  MCDONALD,  One  of  the  Delegation. 
Hon.  JOHN  GAILLARD,  President  pro  tern.  U.  S.  Senate. 

WASHINGTON,  February  18,  1825. 
To  the  Congress  of  the  United  States : 

As  the  representatives  of  the  Choctaw  nation,  and,  in  part,  of  the  aborigines  of 
this  country,  we  feel  ourselves  impelled  alike  by  duty  and  by  inclination  to  address 
you  at  the  present  crisis.  The  Indians  are  becoming  objects  of  increasing  inte- 
rest among  your  people.  Sympathy  is  felt  for  their  condition,  and  the  most  benev- 
olent exertions  have  been,  and  continue  to  be,  made  to  improve  and  civilize  them. 
Under  such  circumstances,  we  cannot  refrain  from  giving  an  expression  of  our 
feelings  with  regard  to  our  condition  and  prospects.  You  are  an  assembly  which 
we  have  been  taught  to  consider  the  most  august  in  the  world,  and  into  whose 
hands  are  committed  the  destinies  of  our  people.  To  whom,  then,  could  we  more 
properly  address  ourselves  on  the  great  points  connected  with  our  happiness  and 
prosperity  ? 

Our  good  father  the  President  has  spoken  to  you,  and  requested  you  to  adopt 
some  measures  to  improve  the  condition  of  the  Indian  race.  He  has  recommended 
that  all  the  Indians  east  of  the  Mississippi  be  persuaded  to  remove  and  establish 
themselves  to  the  west ;  that  a  certain  form  of  government  be  provided  for  them  ; 
and  that  the  land  to  which  they  may  remove  be  secured  to  them  forever. 

Of  the  policy  and  practicability  of  the  measure,  we  will  not  now  express  a  de- 
cided opinion ;  time  alone  can  determine.  Of  the  motives  which  prompted  the 
recommendation,  we  entertain  no  question.  The  opinion  expressed  by  the  Presi- 
dent, that  under  no  pretence  should  the  Indians  be  forcibly  removed  from  the  lands 
which  they  occupy,  gives  us  an  assurance  that  his  feelings  are  truly  paternal  to- 
wards us.  That  opinion  accords  with  the  sentiment  entertained  by  all  just  and 
reflecting  men,  and  cannot,  therefore,  fail  to  be  responded  to  by  your  honorable 
body. 

We  have  long  been  sensible  of  our  weakness,  and  we  know  that,  should  the 
government  of  the  United  States  rise  in  hostility  against  us,  we  must  inevitably 
be  exterminated,  or  driven  to  the  west.  We  know  that  the  extensive  country 
which  you  now  possess  once  belonged  to  our  forefathers.  We  have  heard  that 
from  a  small  beginning  you  have  grown  to  be  a  great  and  powerful  people  ;  and 
that,  as  you  advanced,  we  receded ;  as  you  flourished,  we  decayed.  We  have 
been  tempted  to  ask,  Why  should  this  be  so  ?  Has  the  Great  Spirit  frowned  upon 
his  red  children,  that  they  should  thus  have  withered  in  your  presence  ?  Yet  we 
have  been  told  from  the  good  book  that  he  loves  all  his  children  alike,  and  that  his 
greatest  attribute  is  that  of  infinite  mercy.  This  we  are  most  willing  to  believe ; 


PRESERVATION  OF  THE  INDIANS. 

This  was  literally  the  condition  of  the  Indians  from  the 
moment  the  anomalous  relations  began,  which  found  them 
in  certain  districts  of  country,  not  as  sovereign  owners, 
but  as  possessory  occupants,  only,  of  the  land,  around 

and,  believing,  we  are  led  to  the  natural  conclusion  that  for  some  great  end,  only 
known  to  himself,  he  has  permitted  us  to  melt  before  you ;  but  that  the  time  must 
come  when  his  interposing  hand  will  be  out-stretched  in  our  behalf,  and  we  be 
made  to  become  like  white  men. 

We  rejoice  to  think  that  that  period  is  approaching.  The  voice  of  the  Presi- 
dent, the  sentiments  of  philanthropy  which  seem  to  pervade  the  people,  the 
schools  and  religious  institutions  which  have  been  established  among  us — all  give 
us  the  consoling  assurance  that  we  are  not  doomed  to  extinction.  We  have  be- 
come sensible  that  one  great  reason  of  the  power  and  prosperity  with  which  our 
white  brothers  are  so  eminently  favored,  has  been  the  general  diffusion  of  litera- 
ture and  the  arts  of  civilized  life  among  them.  You  have  institutions  to  promote 
and  disseminate  the  knowledge  of  every  branch  of  science ;  you  have  a  govern- 
ment, and  you  have  laws,  all  founded  upon  those  principles  of  liberty  and  equality 
which  have  ever  been  dear  to  us ;  for,  in  all  our  vicissitudes  of  fortune,  and  not- 
withstanding the  constant  and  gradual  diminution  of  our  numbers,  we  have  never 
been  the  slaves  of  any  Power,  and  we  trust  in  the  Great  Spirit  we  never  shall  be. 
The  theory  of  your  government  is,  justice  and  good  faith  to  all  men.  You  will  not 
submit  to  injury  from  one  party  because  it  is  powerful,  nor  will  you  oppress  an- 
other because  it  is  weak.  Impressed  with  that  persuasion,  we  are  confident  that 
our  rights  will  be  respected. 

We  have  but  small  tracts  of  territory  remaining,  and  our  numbers  are  compar- 
atively few.  The  majority  of  those  east  of  the  Mississippi  are  turning  their  at- 
tention to  agriculture,  are  settling  themselves,  and  would  in  time  become  useful 
citizens.  We  admit,  at  the  same  time,  that  a  large  number  still  continue  a  wan- 
dering life,  are  wretched  and  degraded.  These  it  would  give  us  pleasure  to  see 
settled  west  of  the  Mississippi.  It  would  be  better  for  them,  and  better  for  those 
who  remained.  But  you  cannot  persuade  all  to  remove.  The  gradual  operation 
of  the  laws  which  you  may  enact  with  regard  to  this  subject  would  probably  effect 
much.  But  there  are  those  whom  the  strongest  inducements  could  scarcely  per- 
suade to  leave  the  land  which  contains  the  bones  of  their  fathers,  and  which  has 
been  rendered  dear  to  them  by  the  recollections  of  youth.  The  important  ques- 
tion then  presents  itself,  What  will  you  do  with  those  that  remain  ?  What  mea- 
sures will  you  adopt  to  improve  their  condition,  to  promote  their  happiness  ?  It 
is  this  great  point  to  which  our  address  is  intended  principally  to  direct  your  at- 
tention. 

As  connected  with  the  subject,  and  with  the  question  just  proposed,  we  are 
constrained  to  say,  that  in  several  of  the  Southern  States  we  are  denied  privileges 
to  which,  as  members  of  the  human  family,  we  are  of  right  entitled.  However 
qualified  by  education  we  may  be,  we  are  neither  permitted  to  hold  offices,  nor 
to  give  our  testimony  in  courts  of  justice,  although  our  dearest  rights  may  be  at 
stake.  Can  this  be  a  correct  policy  ?  Is  it  just  ?  Is  it  humane  ?  When 
VOL.  n.  16 


122  PRESERVATION  OF  THE  INDIANS. 

which  the  lines  of  our  states  and  territories  were  thrown. 
It  was  reserved,  however,  for  the  policy  of  the  last  sixteen 
years  to  bring  to  a  focus  all  these  elements  of  oppression, 
degradation,  and  expulsion. 

It  is  my  belief  that  there  have  existed  only  two  periods, 
since  our  intercourse  with  the  Indians  commenced,  when 
it  was  possible  for  them  to  have  been  civilized,  as  a  race. 
The  first  relation  in  which  the  two  parties  stood  to  one 
another,  was  one  of  positive  independence  on  the  part  of 
the  Indian.  He  was  found  owner  and  occupant  of  almost 
boundless  forests — and  from  these,  and  the  rivers,  and 
bays,  and  lakes,  he  derived  his  clothing  and  his  food,  and 
the  attainment  of  these  cost  him  no  labor  that  was  not 
made  sweet  by  the  pleasure  which  was  associated  with  it. 
The  lessons  of  civilization  could  not  be  otherwise  than  lost 

schools  are  multiplying  among  us ;  when  we  have  made  liberal  appropriations  of 
money  for  the  education  of  our  children  ;  when  we  are  forsaking  the  chase,  and 
turning  our  attention  to  agriculture,  and  are  becoming  an  orderly  and  social 
people  ;  does  it  comport  with  an  enlightened  and  liberal  policy  to  continue  the 
imposition  of  those  degrading  restrictions  upon  us  ?  Should  not  inducements  be 
held  forth  to  our  young  men  to  qualify  themselves  to  become  useful  citizens  of 
your  republic  ?  Should  not  the  portals  of  honorable  distinction  be  thrown  open 
to  them  as  well  as  to  their  white  brothers  ?  But  the  subject  is  a  painful  one, 
and  we  will  dismiss  it.  The  mist  of  prejudice  is  gradually  vanishing  before  the 
light  of  reason,  and  enlarged  sentiments  of  philanthropy  begin  to  prevail.  We 
leave  the  issue  of  the  question  to  your  wisdom,  and  to  the  liberality  of  the 
South. 

In  conclusion,  we  would  express  the  earnest  hope  that  the  result  of  your  de- 
liberations respecting  our  unfortunate  race,  may  be  such  as  to  insure  durable 
benefits  to  them,  and  lasting  credit,  in  the  eyes  of  posterity,  to  yourselves. 
Respectfully  submitted  by 

MOOSHULATTJBBEE,  his  +  mark. 

ROBERT  COLE,  his  -f  mark. 

DANIEL  McCuRTAm,  his  -f  mark. 

TALKING  WARRIOR,  his  -f-  mark. 

RED  FORT,  his  +  mark. 

NITTUCKACHEE,  his  +  mark. 

J.  L.  MCDONALD. 
Interpreted,  and  the  signing  witnessed  by  me, 

JOHN  PITCHLYNN, 
United  Stales  Interpreter  for  the  Choctaws. 


PRESERVATION  OF  THE  INDIANS.  123 

upon  any  people  who  had,  for  ages,  been  thus  situated. 
Who  are  they  of  all  the  race  of  Adam,  that  would  surren- 
der all  the  freedom,  and  the  abundance,  that  were  enjoyed 
by  the  North  American  Indian,  when  his  country  was  first 
invaded  by  our  race,  and  place  himself,  voluntarily,  under 
the  restraints  which  civilization  imposes  ?  It  is  not  in  the 
nature  of  man  to  do  this.  It  requires,  before  he  can  bring 
himself  to  endure  the  labor  and  toil  that  attend  upon  the 
civilized  state,  the  operation  of  that  stern  law — NECESSITY. 

The  Indian  must  first  find  himself  separated  from  his 
forests— and  the  game  must  be  gone,  or  so  difficult  to  find, 
and  take,  as  to  expose  him  to  want ;  his  rivers  must  be- 
come too  agitated,  by  the  agencies  of  a  civilized  commerce, 
for  the  security  of  his  bark  canoe ;  and  the  fish,  therefore, 
not  easily  taken,  before  he  will  consent  to  exchange  his 
bow  and  arrow,  and  lance,  for  the  plough,  the  hoe,  the  axe 
and  maul ;  and  surrender  all  that  is  free  in  his  wanderings, 
and  liberty-like  in  its  tendencies,  and  settle  down  to  the 
sober  and  toilsome  work  of  building  a  house,  clearing  the 
ground,  fencing  them  in,  and  engaging  in  all  the  other  labors 
that  attend  upon  such  a  life — in  a  word,  earning  his  bread 
by  the  sweat  of  his  brow.  The  Indians  could  not,  for  these 
reasons,  when  in  the  full  possession  and  enjoyment  of  their 
forest  home,  be  brought  within  reach  of  means,  even  had 
they  been  a  thousand  times  multiplied  by  our  early  pro- 
genitors, for  their  civilization,  much  less  by  the  partial 
ones  that  were  attempted  to  effect  it. 

Every  succeeding  year  found  the  circle  in  which  the  In- 
dian moved,  lessened.  His  forests  were  invaded,  and  the 
game  become  less  and  less  plenty.  And  then  he  was  war- 
red with,  and  his  people  were  slain.  And  when  any  re- 
spite of  the  strife  occurred  between  him  and  the  new 
comers,  some  outbreak,  as  in  the  French  war  of  '56,  and 
that  of  the  Revolution,  would  engage  his  attention,  and 
lead  him  to  take  part  in  the  excitements  which  wars  always 
produce  in  him.  Thus  was  the  red  man,  from  the  begin- 


124  PRESERVATION  OF  THE  INDIANS. 

ning,  the  victim  of  circumstances,  not  one  of  which  was 
calculated  to  produce  the  reformation  of  his  race,  but 
contrariwise,  to  prevent  it. 

But  when,  at  last,  his  forests  and  the  game  were  gone, 
and  his  race  were  reduced  in  numbers  and  power,  and  the 
infant  with  whom  he  used,  centuries  before,  to  contend 
with,  had  become  a  giant  of  overpowering  strength,  and 
all  hope  of  being  ever  able  to  cope  with  him  being  extin- 
guished, then  was  the  time  when  the  hitherto  intractable 
and  indomitable  Indian  was  in  a  condition  to  be  advanced 
into  the  enjoyment  of  all  the  blessings  and  benefits  of  the 
civilized  and  Christian  state.  And  yet,  instead  of  being 
taken  up  at  this  point,  and  transferred  to  this  new  condi- 
tion, for  which  he  was  as  well  fitted  by  nature  as  we  are,  he 
was  doomed  to  even  a  more  debasing  destiny  than  any 
that  had  previously  awaited  him,  and  that  was  to  be 
hemmed  in  by  the  limits  of  state  sovereignty,  as  though 
the  design  was  to  curse  him  with  a  system  of  unmitigated 
degradation,  and  give  the  final  blow  for  his  extermination. 

Another  change,  however,  in  the  inscrutable  ways  of 
Providence  has  been  permitted.  And  although  it  was  brought 
about  under  the  forms  of  cruelty  and  oppression,  too  re- 
volting to  be  dwelt  upon,  still  the  change  has  been  effected, 
and  these  anomalous  relations  which  had  been  made  to 
exist  between  us  and  the  Indians,  are,  for  the  present,  at 
least,  broken  up.  And  now,  once  more,  the  Indians  are 
in  a  position,  which  appears  to  me  to  be  even  more  favor- 
able than  that  which  preceded  the  establishment  of  those 
paralyzing  relations  to  which  I  have  referred,  for  their 
reformation  and  preservation.  Beyond  the  limits  of  our 
organized  states  and  territories,  they  have  a  country  as- 
signed to  them,  and  of  the  three  hundred  thousand  and  up- 
wards that  yet  exist,  over  one  hundred  thousand  occupy 
this  territory ;  and  with  the  relations  such  as  I  now  pro- 
pose to  establish  between  them  and  us,  the  entire  popula- 
tion both  on  this  and  the  other  side  of  the  Rocky  moun- 


PRESERVATION  OF  THE  INDIANS.  135 

tains,  or  by  far  the  larger  portion  of  it,  would  hasten  to 
place  themselves  within  the  action  of  these  elements  of 
freedom,  and  the  rights  of  man  which  I  have  proposed  to 
carry  in  among  them,  under  the  forms  of  annexation  and  a 
territorial  government. 

Never  before  has  Providence  revealed  its  purposes,  with 
so  much  distinctness,  at  least  to  my  mind,  in  regard  to  our 
duty  to  this  unfortunate  race,  as  now.  Every  barrier  which 
hitherto  existed  between  the  purposes  of  the  good  and  mer- 
ciful, and  the  aborigines  of  this  country,  are  seen  to  be  re- 
moved, and  the  way  thrown  wide  open  for  the  statesman, 
the  Christian,  and  philanthropist,  to  preserve  and  save  the 
remnants  of  this  long  harrassed,  and  persecuted  people. 

The  Indians  have  been  driven  from  the  east  to  the 
west  of  the  Mississippi,  and  beyond  the  western  confines 
of  Missouri  and  Arkansas,  for  good  or  for  evil.  This 
movement  has  not  been  made  by  chance,  or  accident. 
There  are  ends  to  be  answered  by  it, 'which  it  behooves  this 
nation  to  look  well  to.  God,  and  not  chance,  governs  the 
world ;  and  it  is  with  him,  and  his  laws,  we,  as  a  nation, 
have  to  do,  in  reference  to  this  Indian  subject.  That  eye 
that  never  sleeps  has  taken  note  of  all  the  oppressions  and 
cruelties,  the  wrongs  and  outrages,  which,  as  a  people,  we 
have  inflicted  on  this  Indian  race.  Is  God  just  ?  Who 
can  doubt  it  ?  Will  he  not  vindicate  his  laws  when  these  are 
violated  in  relation  to  the  Indians,  with  the  same  certainty 
as  when  they  are  defied  and  trampled  on  in  their  relation 
to  white  men  ?  If  the  blood  of  Abel  cried  from  the  ground 
to  God,  and  the  bolt  of  retribution  was  discharged  upon 
Cain,  until  the  pain  it  inflicted  forced  from  the  murderer 
the  exclamation,  "  My  punishment  is  greater  than  I  can  bear" 
— is  there  not  reason  to  apprehend,  in  view  of  the  Indian 
blood,  with  which  so  much  of  the  soil  of  this  country  has 
been  made  red,  that  a  day  of  retribution  will  come,  when 
ample  atonement  will  be  required  by  that  Being  whose  every 
attribute  is  opposed  to  the  treatment  the  Indians  have  been 


126  PRESERVATION  OF  THE  INDIANS. 

receiving  at  our  hands,  for  over  two  hundred  years  ?  What 
an  accumulation  of  wrath !  How  fierce,  should  the  cloud 
with  which  it  is  surcharged  not  be  delivered  of  it  by  the 
appropriate  means,  and  how  destructive  will  be  its  emis- 


sions ! 


I  have  said  the  Indians  are,  where  they  are,  for  good  or 
for  evil.  It  is  for  the  government  and  people  of  this  coun- 
try to  decide  which — nor  is  there,  in  my  opinion,  any  time 
to  be  lost.  We  cannot  flatter  ourselves  with  the  belief 
that  the  Indians  entertain  for  us  feelings  of  kindness,  or 
sympathy  of  any  sort.  They  have  been  made  to  feel  too 
keenly  the  wrongs  we  have  inflicted  on  them.  They  are 
not  ignorant  of  the  past.  They  know  what  the  relations 
are  now,  and  what  they  have  always  been,  between  us  and 
them ;  nor  are  they  ignorant  of  the  superior  advantages 
which  their  present  condition  affords  for  a  suitable  retalia- 
tion, whenever  the  time  should  arrive,  bringing  with  it  a 
favorable  opportunity  for  its  exercise,  or  a  cause  occur  forc- 
ing them  to  the  overt  act. 

If  I  had  been  called  upon  to  locate  the  Indian  popula- 
tion upon  a  territory  better  situated  than  all  others  for 
their  successful  annoyance  of  this  nation,  I  should  have 
chosen  the  very  territory  upon  which  they  are  now  con- 
centred. They  have  only  to  will  it,  and  a  war  more  cost- 
ly, and  more  bloody,  will  ensue,  than  any  that  has  ever 
yet  been  inflicted  upon  this  country.  Philip,  and  Pontiac, 
and  Tecumthe,  and  Osceola,  have  read  us  lessons  on  the 
capacity  of  the  Indians  to  revenge  themselves  ;  but  never 
in  all  their  history  did  they  occupy  a  position  so  formida- 
ble as  that  which  is  now  held  by  their  successors. 

I  will  suppose  the  purpose  formed  by  those  Indians  to 
resist  any  new  attempts  on  our  part  to  push  them  fur- 
ther to  the  west ;  or  to  remove  them  under  any  forms 
from  the  country  they  now  occupy ;  or  that  they  should 
resolve  to  revenge  the  wrongs  done  them  in  all  the  past, 
without  any  further  attempt  on  our  part  to  add  to  them. 


PRESERVATION  OF  THE  INDIANS.  127 

What  would  be  the  first  movement  of  these  eighty  thou- 
sand men  ?  for  I  hold  it  they  could  concentrate  that  num- 
ber. It  would  be  by  that  silent  preparation  which  would 
be  as  still  as  the  calm  before  the  storm,  to  rise  upon,  and 
by  a  system  adapted  to  such  a  purpose,  and  which  the  In- 
dians know  how  to  continue,  destroy  the  population  of 
Missouri  and  Arkansas,  almost  at  a  blow,  cross  the  Mis- 
sissippi, burning  and  killing,  as  they  advanced,  all  before 
them,  till  they  should  reach  Pittsburgh.  And  this  might  all 
be  accomplished,  and  themselves  again  on  the  west  of  the 
Mississippi,  before  an  army  could  be  concentred  to  attack 
them.  And  before  this  army  could  be  prepared  to  take  the 
field,  they  would  adopt  the  guerrilla  practice  of  fighting — 
taking  care  to  drive  the  buffalo  before  them,  securing,  by 
this  means,  their  own  subsistence,  and  to  burn  the  prairies, 
thus  depriving  the  enemy  of  its  cavalry  and  artillery  ;  for,  if 
the  means  to  subsist  horses  should  be  destroyed,  the  big 
guns  could  not  be  employed.  Should  they  be  pursued  to 
the  Rocky  Mountains,  the  war  they  would  carry  on  from 
the  fastnesses  there,  would  be  terrible ;  if  forced  over  them, 
and  down  towards  the  Pacific,  their  means  of  subsistence 
would  be  still  congenial  to  their  wants ;  and  if,  at  last,  as 
would  be  the  case,  the  last  man  of  them  should  perish,  it 
would  be  at  a  cost  so  mighty  to  us,  as  may  well  demand  of 
the  statesman  a  suitable  attention  to  this  momentous  sub- 
ject, and  in  time  to  avoid  the  contingency  that  might  pro- 
duce the  conflict.  This  will  not  be  by  the  erection  of  forts 
and  batteries,  or  by  means  of  coercion  of  any  sort.  It 
can  be  accomplished,  in  my  humble  opinion,  only  by  the 
means  I  have  suggested.  It  is  high  time  that  a  policy 
other  than  that  of  force  and  cruelty,  were  employed  in  our 
intercourse  with  the  Indians. 

There  would  seem  to  be  entertained  by  a  vast  body  of 
Indians,  now  collected  in  the  Indian  territory,  apprehen- 
sions that  future  cause  of  collision  may  arise  between 
them  and  us.  Sixteen  tribes  were  represented  at  Talequa, 


128  PRESERVATION  OF  THE  INDIANS. 

in  the  Cherokee  country,  in  June,  eighteen  hundred  and 
forty-three.  The  delegates  present  were  from  the  Chero- 
kee, Creek,  Chickasaw,  Delaware,  Shawnee,  Piankeshaw, 
Wea,  Osage,  Seneca,  Stockbridge,  Ottawa,  Chippewa, 
Peoria,  Witchataw,  Pottawattamie,  and  Seminole  tribes. 
The  result,  says  a  neighboring  paper,  of  their  deliberations, 
was  a  compact,  binding  upon  each  nation  party  thereto, 
embracing  the  following  objects  :  "  To  maintain  peace  and 
friendship  with  each  other,  and  among  themselves.  To 
abstain  from  retaliation  for  offences  committed  by  individ- 
uals. To  provide  for  the  improvement  of  their  people  in 
agriculture,  manufactures,  and  other  arts  of  peace.  That 
no  nation,  party  to  this  compact,  shall,  without  the  consent  of 
the  whole,  sell,  cede,  or  in  any  manner  alienate  to  the  United 
States,  any  part  of  their  present  Territory.  To  provide  for 
the  punishment  of  crimes  committed  by  citizens  of  one  na- 
tion upon  the  citizens  of  another.  To  admit  the  citizens  of 
one  nation  to  citizenship  in  any  other  nation,  party  to  this 
compact.  To  endeavor  to  suppress  the  use  of  ardent  spir- 
its, within  the  limits  of  their  respective  nations ;  and  to 
prohibit  its  introduction  by  the  citizens  of  one  nation  into 
the  territory  of  another." 

Now  would  it  not  be  to  shut  our  eyes  to  all  the  experi- 
ence of  the  past,  in  the  whole  of  our  intercourse  with  the 
Indian  tribes,  to  doubt,  for  a  single  moment,  that  in  the 
progress  of  time,  the  United  States  will,  under  some  form, 
seek  to  dislodge  the  Indians  from  the  territory  they  now 
occupy ;  unless,  indeed,  other  relations  shall  be  establish- 
ed between  the  Indians  and  the  United  States,  than  those 
which  now  exist,  or  ever  have  existed  ?  When  that  at- 
tempt will  be  made,  cannot  be  foreseen ;  but  it  will  not  be 
long  after  that  country  shall  be  made  tempting  by  the  cul- 
tivation of  its  soil,  the  building  of  houses,  the  planting  of 
orchards  and  gardens,  and  the  erecting  of  mills.  When, 
in  a  word,  it  shall  be  recovered  from  its  desert  state,  and 
made  productive,  and  be  ornamented,  then,  as  in  the  past, 


PRESERVATION  OF  THE  INDIANS.  129 

AVARICE,  backed  by  power,  will  seek  to  succeed  to  it — re- 
gardless of  the  condition,  and  feelings,  or  rights,  or  remon- 
strances, of  the  Indians.  What  if  the  preamble  to  the  treaty 
of  1835,  does  say:  "With  a  view  tore-uniting  their  people 
(the  Cherokees)  in  one  body,  and  securing  a  permanent 
home  for  themselves,  and  their  posterity,  in  the  country 
selected  by  their  forefathers,  without  the  territorial  limits  of 
the  state  sovereignties,  and  where  they  can  establish  and  enjoy 
a  government  of  their  own  choice,  and  perpetuate  such  a  state 
of  society  as  may  be  most  consonant  with  their  views,  habits^ 
and  conditions,  as  may  tend  to  their  individual  comfort,  and 
their  own  advancement  in  civilization?"  does  this  mean 
anything  more  than  similar  provisions  have  meant,  begin- 
ning with  the  treaty  of  Hopewell,  of  1785, 1  believe,  down 
to  this  time  ?  What  has  become  of  the  reiterated  pledge 
which  runs  through  all  the  treaties  made  with  the  Indians  ? 
By  the  treaty  of  Holston,  in  1791,  a  cession  of  lands  was 
made,  and  the  seventh  article  thereof  is  in  these  words : 
"  The  United  States  solemnly  guarantee  to  the  Cherokee 
nation,  all  their  lands  not  hereby  ceded."  In  1794,  another 
treaty  was  made  at  Philadelphia,  confirming  that  of  1791, 
especially  as  to  boundaries.  In  1798,  and  '99,  another 
treaty  was  made  which  provided  for  a  further  cession  of 
lands,  securing  them  the  "  remainder  of  their  country  for- 
ever ;"  and  yet,  in  the  face  of  all  these  solemn  promises, 
these  same  Cherokees  were  driven,  at  the  point  of  the  bayo- 
net, from  those  very  lands,  thus  guarantied  to  them,  by  the 
faith  and  honor  of  the  United  States  ! 

With  all  this  history  of  the  power  of  the  strong  over 
the  destinies  of  the  weak,  what  better  guarantee  have  the 
Indians,  now  on  the  territory  west  of  Arkansas  and  Mis- 
souri, that  they  shall  not  be  disturbed,  or  have  their  lands 
taken  from  them,  than  those  given  them  when  on  this 
side  the  Mississippi  ?  I  know  the  preamble  of  the  treaty 
of  1828  says — "  In  the  far  west  the  Cherokees  shall  have  a 
permanent  home,  and  which  shall,  and  under  the  most  sol- 

VOL.  n.  17 


130  PRESERVATION  OF  THE  INDIANS. 

emn  guarantee  of  the  United  States,  be,  and  remain,  theirs 
FOREVER  ;  a  home  that  shall  in  no  future  time  be  embar- 
rassed by  having  extended  around  it  the  lines,  or  placed 
over  it  the  jurisdiction,  of  a  territory  or  state." 

After  referring  to  these  pledges,  but  doubting  their  sin- 
cerity, or  rather  doubting  the  continuance  in  the  future 
of  that  honesty  of  intention  which  made  them,  the  Chero- 
kee Delegation  at  Washington,  addressed  a  letter  to  the 
President  of  the  United  States,  bearing  date  Nov.  8, 1845, 
of  which  the  following  is  an  extract : 

"  Now,  sir,  to  relieve  us  from  the  apprehension  which 
we  cannot  but  feel,  that  similar  dreadful  scenes  to  those 
described  above  may  occur  again,  and  our  people  be  again 
driven  forth  into  the  wilderness,  we  entreat  that  these 
guarantees  and  pledges  of  the  government,  so  often  re- 
peated, be  carried  into  effect  by  giving  to  our  nation  a  pa- 
tent for  their  lands  west — a  full  title  to  a  permanent  home, 
as  promised,  where  we  shall  not  again  be  disturbed.  Can- 
not this  boon,  or  rather  this  mere  act  of  justice,  be  granted 
to  the  remnant  of  the  once  numerous  aboriginal  people  of 
this  continent,  whose  lands  extended  from  the  Atlantic 
ocean  to  the  river  Mississippi,  and  which  wide  domain 
forms  now  the  richest  and  most  essential  part  of  your  great 
republic,  supporting  in  affluence  millions  of  your  people  ? 
Surely,  in  exchange  for  such  an  empire,  you  will  not  dis- 
appoint the  hopes  of  our  people  by  refusing  the  only  title 
to  the  comparatively  little  territory  where  it  has  been  your 
pleasure  to  place  them,  in  which  they  can  feel  secure. 
More  than  half  a  century  ago,  General  Washington,  that 
just,  and  good,  and  great  man,  made  a  talk  to  our  fathers, 
and  signed  it  with  his  great  name.  At  the  conclusion,  he 
says  :  *  I  shall  subscribe  my  name  to  this  talk,  which  shall 
be  written  in  your  book,  in  order  to  be  preserved  among 
you  as  a  witness  to  our  transactions  together,  and  to  which 
you  may  have  recourse  in  future.  This  book  you  will  sa- 
credly preserve.'  We  have  preserved  it  sacredly,  and 


PRESERVATION  OF  THE  INDIANS. 

now,  in  our  great  need,  we  have  recourse  to  it.  At  the 
beginning  of  his  talk,  General  Washington  says :  « I  am 
highly  satisfied  with  the  confidence  you  repose  in  me,  and 
in  the  United  States,  as  your  friends  and  protectors.  We 
shall,  indeed,  rejoice  in  being  the  instruments  of  the  Great 
Master  of  breath,  to  impart  to  you  and  your  whole  nation 
all  the  happiness  of  which  your  situation  will  admit ;  to 
teach  you  to  cultivate  the  earth,  and  to  raise  your  own 
bread  as  we  do  ours ;  to  raise  cattle  ;  to  teach  your  chil- 
dren such  arts  as  shall  be  useful  to  them ;  and  to  lead  you, 
by  degrees,  from  one  information  to  another,  in  order  not 
only  to  better  your  situation  on  this  earth,  but,  by  enabling 
your  minds  to  form  a  more  perfect  judgment  of  the  great 
works  of  nature,  to  lead  you  to  a  more  exalted  view  of  the 
Great  Father  of  the  universe.  Rest,  therefore,  on  the 
United  States,  as  your  great  security  against  all  injury.' 
These  words  of  kindness  sunk  deep  into  the  hearts  of  our 
fathers,  and  the  result  is,  that  our  nation  from  paganism 
has  been  converted  to  the  blessed  faith  of  Christianity — 
from  savage  hunters,  depending  upon  the  chase  for  a  pre- 
carious subsistence,  to  a  civilized  agricultural  community. 
We  have  an  alphabet  of  our  own ;  and  our  written  repub- 
lican constitution  and  the  simple  laws  suited  to  our  condi- 
tion are  printed  in  our  own  language,  as  are  the  Holy  Scrip- 
tures, many  useful  books,  and  a  newspaper.  We  have 
eighteen  public  schools,  and  some  private  institutions  of 
like  character.  Our  people  are  generally  moral,  industri- 
ous, and  well  informed  as  to  the  public  affairs  of  their 
country,  and  upon  general  subjects.  We  are,  then,  a  civ- 
ilized and  Christian  people ;  and  we  appeal  to  the  sense 
of  justice  of  the  government  and  people  of  the  United 
States  to  make  us  safe  in  the  country  we  now  occupy. 
Our  position  towards  the  United  States  is  now  changed ; 
we  are  outside  of  any  State  or  Territory ;  the  policy  of 
the  government,  as  to  the  removal  of  the  Indians,  has  been 
carried  out ;  no  State  can  now  complain  of  intrusion  on 


132  PRESERVATION  OF  THE  INDIANS. 

our  part.  We  ask  a  new  treaty  which  shall  define  distinct- 
ly our  new  position,  direct  the  issue  of  a  patent  in  fee  sim- 
ple for  our  territory,  establish  on  a  permanent  footing  our 
relations  to  the  United  States,  and  provide  for  the  pay- 
ment of  our  just  claims.  We  ask,  sir,  the  fulfilment  of  the 
terms  held  out  to  us  by  General  Jackson  and  by  Mr.  Ty- 
ler. The  first,  then  President  of  United  States,  in  an  ad- 
dress to  our  people  east  of  the  Mississippi,  dated  Wash- 
ington, 16th  March,  1835,  urging  us  to  go  to  the  west, 
says :  '  The  United  States  have  assigned  to  you  a  fertile 
and  extensive  country,  with  a  very  fine  climate  adapted  to 
your  habits,  and  with  all  the  other  natural  advantages  which 
you  ought  to  desire  or  expect.  I  shall,  in  a  short  time, 
appoint  commissioners  for  the  purpose  of  meeting  the 
whole  body  of  your  people  in  council.  They  will  explain 
to  you  more  fully  my  views,  and  the  nature  of  the  stipula- 
tions which  are  offered  to  you.  These  stipulations  pro- 
vide— 1st.  For  an  addition  to  the  country  assigned  to  you 
west  of  the  Mississippi,  and  for  the  conveyance  of  the 
whole  of  it  by  patent  in  fee  simple  ;  and  also  for  the  neces- 
sary political  rights,  and  for  preventing  white  persons  from 
trespassing  upon  you.'  We  thus  briefly  advert  to  this 
promise  of  President  Jackson.  We  quote  now  the  words 
of  President  Tyler,  in  his  letter  to  our  delegation  of  Sep- 
tember, 1841,  in  which  he  offers  us  indemnity  for  the  past 
and  security  for  the  future.  Mr.  Tyler  says :  6 1  still  pro- 
pose, at  a  future  day,  to  negotiate  with  you  a  new  treaty. 
You  may  assure  your  people,  that,  so  far  as  I  shall  have 
any  power  or  influence  to  effect  such  results,  not  justice 
merely  shall  be  done  them,  but  that  a  liberal  and  generous 
course  of  policy  shall  be  adopted  towards  them.  Upon 
the  ratification  of  the  treaty  contemplated,  which  shall  give 
to  the  Cherokee  nation  full  indemnity  for  all  wrongs  which 
they  may  have  suffered,  establish  upon  a  permanent  basis 
the  political  relations  between  them  and  the  people  of  the 
United  States,  guarantee  their  lands  in  absolute  fee  simple, 


PRESERVATION  OF  THE  INDIANS.  133 

and  prescribe  specific  rules  in  reference  to  subjects  of  the 
most  interesting  character  to  them  and  their  remotest  pos- 
terity, a  new  sun  will  have  dawned  upon  them,'  &c.  The 
execution  of  these  offers  of  President  Jackson  and  of  Presi- 
dent Tyler,  which  we  think  we  have  fairly  earned  by  our 
progress  in  civilization,  under  the  paternal  advice  of  the 
great  Washington,  and  by  our  forbearance,  fidelity,  and 
suffering,  is  all  we  ask,  and  we  conceive  it  to  be  but  sim- 
ple justice." 

How  much  confidence  these  Cherokees  repose  in  the 
fulfilment,  or  carrying  out,  of  these,  no  doubt  honestly- 
meant  promises,  is  seen  in  their  language  employed  to  the 
President,  as  above  quoted.  They  seek  to  be  relieved 
from  the  "  apprehension  which  they  cannot  but  feel,  that 
similar  dreadful  scenes,  &c.,  &c.,  may  occur  again."  It  is 
high  time  that  these  "  apprehensions"  were  allayed,  and 
put  to  rest  forever.  The  way  to  do  it  is  the  question.  I 
can  see  no  way  which  would  so  certainly  accomplish  an 
end  so  desirable,  as  that  which  I  have  suggested ;  and  that 
is,  by  connecting  their  country  to  ours,  by  the  tie  territo- 
rial, and  making  them  part  and  parcel  of  ourselves.  Give 
them  the  fee  simple  title  to  their  lands,  without  which  no 
people  ever  yet  were  transferred  from  the  savage  to  the 
civilized  state ;  and  having  done  this,  the  sure  foundation  will 
be  laid,  as  I  verily  believe,  upon  which  to  erect  the  su- 
perstructure of  aboriginal  prosperity  and  greatness. 

It  does  appear  to  me,  that  apart  from  the  humanity  of 
the  plan,  and  its  justice,  and  the  benefit  it  proposes  to 
confer  on  the  remnants  of  the  Indian  race,  that  the  govern- 
ment of  this  country  is  bound  to  guard,  in  some  way, 
against  the  contingencies  of  a  rupture  with  them.  The 
plan  I  have  proposed  contemplates  more  than  a  bare 
avoidance  of  a  collision  with  the  Indians ;  it  looks  to  a 
neutralizing  of  the  enmity  which  they  cannot  do  else  than 
cherish  towards  us ;  and  to  a  conversion  of  that  enmity 
into  lasting  friendship.  Then,  instead  of  having  a  power 


134  PRESERVATION  OF  THE  INDIANS. 

on  our  frontier,  so  formidable  as  it  now  is,  ready  at  any 
moment  to  be  employed  against  us,  either  upon  its  own 
basis,  or  in  alliance  with  other  powers,  we  should  secure  to 
ourselves  a  certain  protection,  and  a  barrier  of  defence, 
and  if  needed,  the  co-operating  agency  of  this  Indian  pop- 
ulation, in  any  strife  which  might  come  from  that  quarter 
in  all  time  to  come. 

There  can  surely  be  no  objection  to  the  admission  of 
this  long-injured  people  into  our  confederacy,  even  should 
the  beneficial  consequences  of  such  fellowship  be  confined 
to  themselves ;  but  how  much  greater  is  the  obligation  to 
carry  out  this  design,  when  our  interests,  to  say  nothing  of 
our  justice  and  honor,  are  so  intimately  connected  with 
the  measure  ? 

But  will  the  Indians  accept  the  proposed  terms  of  an- 
nexation ?  It  might  be  time  enough  to  make  this  inquiry 
after  it  was  decided  to  make  them  the  offer.  I  see  some 
objections  which  it  is  probable  might  be  made  by  them,  to 
this  proposition.  They  have,  now,  organized  governments, 
and  laws,  and  constitutions ;  to  these  they  are  attached. 
They  might  not  relish,  at  first,  the  levelling  process  that 
would  attend  upon  this  act  of  annexation.  Their  chiefs, 
as  men  feel  always,  are  not  insensible  to  the  commanding 
position  they  occupy,  nor  ought  they  to  be,  and  so  with 
the  inferior  grades  of  officers.  But  it  will  not  escape  the 
notice  of  these  officers  under  the  Indian  government,  that 
they  are  fitted  to  fill  the  places  which  their  proposed  new 
relations  to  us  would  create.  If  one  of  these  men  could 
no  more  be  a  chief,  he  might  be  a  governor  of  the  territo- 
ry ;  and  another  a  Speaker  in  the  House  of  Representa- 
tives, and  another  President  of  the  Senate,  whilst  others 
would  be  called  to  fill  the  offices  of  senators  and  legisla- 
tors, and  all  the  other  offices  which  enter  into  the  compo- 
sition of  these  territorial  relations. 

And  then,  again,  the  disparaging  relations  that  now  exist 
between  them  and  their  government,  well  organized  as  it 


PRESERVATION  OF  THE  INDIANS.  135 

is — made  so,  not  only  by  our  overshadowing  power,  but  by 
the  consciousness  of  the  disparity  which  they  must  feel  to 
exist  between  them  and  their  governments,  and  the  United 
States — would  all  be  merged  into  that  feeling  of  equality 
with  us,  which  would  succeed,  at  once,  to  these  new  rela- 
tions. But  when,  to  all  this,  is  superadded  the  soul-elevating 
thought,  that  no  future  change,  either  of  country  or  con- 
dition, except  to  elevate  and  dignify,  and  improve  the  latter, 
will  ever  happen  to  them  more,  I  can  contemplate  the  ac- 
ceptance of  the  proposition  in  no  other  light  than  as  meet- 
ing the  universal  and  hearty  concurrence  of  chiefs,  warri- 
ors, and  people. 

I  have  already  referred,  in  the  commencement  of  this 
proposal  to  annex  the  Indian  territory  to  our  Union,  to 
those  good  men,  who,  in  the  character  of  missionaries, 
have  kept  side  by  side  with  the  Indians  in  so  many  of  their 
afflictions  and  migrations.  I  will  again  refer  to  them,  and 
implore  them  by  all  the  lost  labor  of  the  past,  and  by  the 
hopes  of  the  future ;  by  the  critical  condition  of  the  pacific 
relations  that  exist  between  the  Indians  and  us ;  and  by  the 
sacredness  of  the  cause  in  which  they  are  engaged,  to  look 
well  and  earnestly  into  this  subject,  and  learn  from  the  past 
what  must  attend  upon  their  labors  in  the  future,  if  the  change 
I  propose,  or  some  other  change  equivalent  to  it,  be  not 
brought  about.  And,  seeing,  as  they  must  see,  that  the  plan 
I  propose,  or  some  other,  is  indispensable  to  the  success  they 
seek  to  command,  I  implore  them  to  take  up  the  subject  in 
all  its  bearings,  and  by  the  instrumentalities  which  they  have 
at  command,  manufacture,  collect,  and  embody  public  opin- 
ion, in  regard  to  what  may  be  determined  to  be  done  ;  and 
by  memorial,  and  personal  agencies,  bring  this  opinion  to 
bear  upon  Congress,  with  whom  alone  the  power  is  vested, 
to  redeem,  disenthrall,  and  save,  and  bless,  the  remnants  of 
this  aboriginal  race.  And  I  make  the  same  appeal  to  all 
the  good,  of  all  religious  persuasions,  both  in  the  Church 


136  PRESERVATION  OF  THE  INDIANS. 

and  out  of  it,  and  to  politicians  of  all  parties,  to  second 
this  attempt,  feeble  as  I  know  it  to  be,  to  save  the  Indians, 
and  consolidate,  and  perpetuate  peace  between  them  and 
us,  and  by  so  doing,  ward  off  the  terrible  retribution  which 
must,  sooner  or  later,  unless  it  be  averted,  fall  upon  this 
nation. 


THE   END. 


